RAF celebrates 90th birthday

9:56am Tuesday 1st April 2008

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AT 11.50am today a formation of Tucano aeroplanes will fly over York Minster to mark the 90th anniversary to the day of the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The nine Tucanos will take off from RAF Linton-on-Ouse and will fly past the Minster as Linton's station commander, Group Captain Mark Hopkins, takes the salute. Along with serving RAF personnel, including young trainee pilots, there will be members of the RAF Association, and Terry Clark, who is thought to be the oldest surviving Battle of Britain pilot in Yorkshire.

Group Capt Hopkins urged local people to go to the Minster and celebrate the anniversary with the RAF.

He said: "The RAF has come a long way since its formative year.

"Today it may be a highly advanced and technical service, but the spirit, ethos and values remain the same today as they were in 1918. For staff at RAF Linton-on-Ouse to spend the anniversary date at York Minster speaks volumes about the close ties between the station and the city of York.

"I sincerely hope residents will enjoy the spectacle of a Tucano flypast today and join with us in celebrating nine decades of service."

After the flypast, Group Capt Hopkins will perform the Turning Of The Page ceremony inside the Minster.

This will take place at the Astronomical Clock beneath which is a book containing the names of the 18,000 airmen from more than 15 countries who died while flying wartime missions from RAF airfields in Yorkshire and the North East.

A page of the book is turned every day by the Minster Police, but on special occasions a page is turned with full ceremony by RAF personnel.

The service was formed on April 1, 1918, by amalgamating the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, after air power had proved itself an important weapon in the First World War.