Tornado Talk. RAF Association Melton Branch & Club Newsletter July/August Branch/Club Open Day Saturday July 1 st

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1 Tornado Talk RAF Association Melton Branch & Club Newsletter July/August 2017 Branch/Club Open Day Saturday July 1 st A successful day as Association funds benefit A successful Open Day was held on July 1 st to promote the work that the Association does in supporting the RAF Family to help both serving and former personnel and dependants as well as keeping our profile to the fore within Melton and its surrounding area. The event was opened by the Mayor Mr Tejpal Bains supported by Senior Town Warden Mrs Dinah Hickling and Melton RAFA President Mr Hadge Jarvis. The Mayor who spent a couple of hours at the event was very supportive of the work being done by the Association. He took the opportunity to present Brenda Cox, our Vice-Chair and Branch/Club Secretary, with both Citizen of the Year and the Mayor's Award of Merit for her long service to the branch/club, as when the awards were originally presented in April Brenda was on holiday.

2 There were many stalls featuring RAFA merchandise, membership and welfare, tombola, lucky dip, cake stall, photography, bouncy castle, various children games etc., as well as a barbeque and refreshments Sqn RAF Air Cadets were also present with a flight simulator and the Defence Animal Training Regiment were represented by their RAFALO, Mick and his dog Sparky who was an instant hit with his friendly approachable nature. Many members and their guests attended on a warm and sunny day, the result of which is that the Wings appeal and Branch and club funds have all benefitted. Thanks go to the organisers Suzy and Brenda and to all the members who participated and helped on the day.

3 Meet Our New RAFALO Cpl Michael Lauchlan RAF Police Biography One of six siblings, Cpl Michael Lauchlan joined the Royal Air Force in 1997 as a W-Mech. In 1998 he re-traded to RAFP to follow his dream of becoming a RAFP Dog handler. After completing trade training at RAF Halton, he was posted to RAF Leuchars and undertook Patrol dog handler training at the Defence Animal Centre. In 1999 he was part of the rapid deployment to Kosovo as part of the APOD Police & security element working with elements of the Russian Airborne element on joint ops. A Tour in Northern Ireland followed on both Police and dog duties, inside and outside the wire. In 2004 he was posted to Cyprus on dogs and returned to Northern Ireland in 2007, leaving Cyprus as the RAF Police (Cyprus) Dog trials Champion. In 2010 he was posted to Diego Garcia and Gazetted three ways, as a British Indian Ocean Territory Police, Customs and Immigration Officers. He went on to hold these appointments and that of the Drug Dog Handler, three times ( , 2013 and ) in his last tour of BIOT DG he rendered life-saving first aid to a Military Working Dog on two separate occasions (No Vet on island.) The dog Champ is still working today. His deployments/duties have seen him sent to the Falklands (x3), Diego Garcia, Japan, Germany and the middle-east. Mick became involved with RAFA after a friend and colleague was injured cycling home from work. He referred the airman via the outgoing RAFA Rep and area co-ordinator Steve Webb. In doing so he accidentally roped himself into being the new RAFA Rep for the Defence Animal Centre. (No Regrets!!) At 20 years in, and coming from a large family, he is more than happy giving back to RAFA. Since taking over in March, membership has surged via the DAC. He has also been able to help two veterans so far with sign-posting to badly needed help via welfare organizations including our own. Mick enjoys performing live music and was recently featured (Vocals and harmonica) on a Police Charity single We Stand Together-The thin Blue Line in aid of the COPS-Care of Police Survivors Charity (Available to download on itunes, Google Play and Amazon). When not playing music, he spends time with his two large rescue dogs, German Shepherd Indi (9) and Dog De Bordeaux cross Lab, Ziro (1). Plans for this year include starting a BA (Hons) and training as a Community First Responder with East-Mids Ambulance Service.

4 Susie s Sunday Lunch 3 rd September Eating yummy food 190 was raised for Wings.

5 Forthcoming Events Sunday 17 th - Battle of Britain Parade in town all members encouraged and welcome to attend. Sunday 17 th - Battle of Britain Service at Sage Cross Methodist Church 18:00 Tuesday 3 rd October Branch & Club committee meeting. Quiz Night Every 3rd Tuesday of the Month Every Saturday lunchtime cobs are available (fillings vary from week to week). Why not call in and fill your boots Coffee mornings are held every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month 10:00 12:00 If you have any suggestions for social events or would like to organise one yourself, pelase speak to Brenda or one of the other committee memebrs. Please see notice board for more information.

6 Saturday 28 th October 2017 RBL Festival of Remembrance De Montfort Hall Leicester Ticket prices have been maintained at plus an introductory price of solely for the upper left and right balconies. The Entertainment this year will be provided solely by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, 2017 being their Centenary year. Tickets will be on sale from the De Montfort Hall only. Remembrance Remembering our Family As an active fighting force, there will be times when we have to hear the devastating news that we have lost serving personnel. And no matter the age, rank, or number of years of service that person has dedicated to the RAF, the impact is felt throughout the entire RAF Family. It is also always sad to learn of the loss of veteran members of the RAF Family; people who committed themselves to serving their country, many of them heroes. And whether active-serving or former-serving, remembering them and honouring the person s service at the funeral, or in an act of remembrance, is something that many families choose to do. In times of loss, the RAF Association is here to support family and friends. For more information regarding organising an RAF funeral, bereavement support or our remembrance garden visit rafa.org.uk/what-we-do/remembrance Also included are details on how some people like to help us to continue our valuable work by leaving a legacy gift.

7 RAF100: Twelve months of activities planned The RAF100 programme will salute the centenary of the Royal Air Force through wide-ranging local, regional and national events and activities running from 1 April 2018 to the end of September The public launch is scheduled for autumn 2017, which will coincide with the start of the RAF100 Appeal, run by the four key RAF charities (RAF Association, RAF Benevolent Fund, RAF Charitable Trust and the RAF Museum) to raise charitable funds to support the RAF family. The RAF100 website has been launched to tell people about RAF100 and how to get involved. As you d expect, there will be traditional events, full of ceremonial and historic significance, including: a live broadcast multi-media event from the Royal Albert Hall; a service at Westminster Abbey; and a parade of 1,500 uniformed personnel up The Mall to Buckingham Palace where Her Majesty The Queen will take the salute and review a flypast. Important though these big events are, there is much, much more to RAF100. The Royal Air Force will be showcased in lots of different ways to reach as many people as possible from air shows to festivals; from national, iconic events to local initiatives and schools projects focusing on science, technology, engineering and maths. The RAF Association will be leading on RAF100 Appeal collections at some of these events and in due course, we will be asking for the support of Association members and other volunteers to help us. More generally, there are plans for a range of special RAF100 publications as well as television and radio programmes and social media campaigns.