Page 31 - The Cormorant 2018
P. 31

PAGE 29
  What RAF100 means to me Wing Commander Fred Wigglesworth
MY GRANDFATHER WAS FIGHTING in World War I when the RAF formed, having survived the Somme and no doubt seen the RFC flying machines in action during the War. I wonder what he would have thought of the RAF
of today, 100 years on. Whilst equipment and capabilities have evolved beyond what he might have imagined, in some ways our role has changed
very little. My own experience of providing airborne over-watch of friendly troops, whilst taking pictures and dropping ordnance where necessary, is probably not far off that of my RAF counterpart of a century ago – except for the fact that I was flying a Reaper in the Middle East via satellite, from an air conditioned control station in Nevada! The RAF doesn’t feel ‘old’
to me – our sister Services would no doubt second that – and that’s not because 100 years is insignificant. It’s an important milestone to stop and reflect, seeing how far we’ve come and how much we’ve achieved. But in RAF style, we won’t do that for long...because we’ve got work to do and we’re not comfortable unless we’re thinking and looking far ahead, above the horizon and up into the wild blue yonder. Per Ardua ad Astra!
         




























































































   29   30   31   32   33