Re-Dedication of Roll of Honour and Blessing of Airwork Services Plaque
Please note that the list of attendees at this event is now closed
Many members will remember the Memorial Book was first dedicated at a service in the Royal Memorial Chapel at Sandhurst in 1977 with 20 names in it. It was subsequently re-dedicated in 1996 after the addition of a further 15 names at a similar service.
Since then, three more names were added to the Book in 2008 in memory of Geoff Mawle, Don Nairn and Tony Fleming. Following further representation to the committee, the Book has been amended this year to include Mike Offord, Martin Ward-Harrison, Adrian Winterbon and Stan Standford and corrections have been made to a few dates previously incorrectly recorded. The Book has also been repaired and refurbished as age and its static position had caused the spine to deteriorate.
Many will also remember the tragic incident of the five Airwork Services men killed at Khor Rawri on 1 Jun 1978. After discussion with the senior chaplain at RMAS and a number of SOAF veterans, it has been decided to commemorate them with a separate engraved brass plaque that will sit adjacent to the Book. Additionally, last year, a stand was commissioned and placed next to the Book. On the stand is a description of the Book and its Dhofar context.
The event will comprise a service to re-dedicate the Book and bless the plaque on Tuesday 24 October at 1200 hrs in the Royal Memorial Chapel at RMAS. This will be followed by a reception in the Hampshire Suite at The Ely Hotel, Blackwater, Surrey, GU17 9LJ. Reaction from members who were close friends and from the traceable families has been very supportive. We expect about sixty to attend from within that circle.
Now that planning is sufficiently mature, the committee would welcome attendance from any of the membership. With the help of generous donations, the Association will fund the reception and all associated costs. Mr Keith Eytle, the resident in-country Airwork Services manager will represent the company at the event. The service will be led by the Senior Chaplain, The Reverend Monsignor Canon Robert Corrigan.
The list of attendees for this event is now closed to enable us to finalise security details with Sandhurst and numbers for catering.