Roll of Honour – Overview

Background

Although the names of personnel who had served in the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), the 48 RAF Companies of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (an all female Service affiliated to the AAF) or the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) and who had died whilst on duty or as a consequence of being on duty are listed in the Books of Remembrance (BoR) located in the Royal Air Force (RAF) Church of St Clement Danes, they were not listed in a separate and discrete document in the Church. Accordingly, in 2010 the Foundation’s Trustees began the process of compiling a Roll of Honour (RoH) of these individuals. The details were written on vellum pages which were bound in a white leather cover in the style of the RAF BoR in the Church but with the RAuxAF Badge on the front rather than that of the RAF. The completed document was then housed in a fine oak cabinet located at in a prominent position at the front of the northern aisle of the Church. It was dedicated at a Service held in St Clement Danes on 28 October 2012. The Service included the laying up of the RAuxAF’s first Sovereign’s Colour. The Foundation’s Patron, HRH The Duke of Gloucester was present.

Painstaking research to determine the names to be entered in the RoH was undertaken by two of the Foundation’s Trustees, Squadron Leaders Tony Freeman and r Bruce Blanche. The scroll work was undertaken by John Nash and the the book cover and binding by Tony Smith. The Trustees acknowledge the valuable assistance provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the PMA Casualty Branch (RAF)  and the staff of the National Memorial Arboretum. They are also extremely grateful to the RAF Charitable Trust and the RAF Central Fund who respectively provided the funding for the RoH book and for the cabinet in which it is housed.; without this support, the project could not have been undertaken.