Welcome to The 10 Squadron Association Website
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
A warm welcome to the 10 Squadron Association website. The Association was created 30 years ago with the aims of preserving the spirit and comradeship formed during service on the unit and developing a close relationship with the present day Squadron. Membership is open to all who have served, or continue to serve, on 10 Squadron and also to relatives and friends of former Squadron members. Our membership includes those from the Halifax days, through the Dakota, Canberra, Victor and VC10 eras and now the new A330 Voyager.
Based at RAF Brize Norton, as part of the AirTanker Hub, 10 Squadron operates the magnificent Voyager aircraft in the Air Transport and Air-to-Air Refuelling roles and is co-located with the second unit to fly the type, 101 Squadron. The 2 squadrons employ a joint manning strategy on flying tasks, without losing a strong sense of individual unit identity. This close relationship between the squadrons can be traced back to 1984 when 101 Squadron reformed at Brize Norton to fly VC10 tankers alongside 10 Squadron's VC10 transport aircraft. Between 2005 and 2011, whilst 10 Squadron was disbanded, 101 Squadron was still operating the VC10 and the Association was privileged to be hosted by the unit during our annual visits to the station.
The Association organizes 2 main events during the year. We hold a reunion at Brize Norton over 2 days each May, to promote a strong fellowship amongst our members. In November a Remembrance Day Service takes place at the 10 Squadron Memorial located near the entrance to the former RAF Melbourne in Yorkshire, where the Squadron was based in WW2. The ceremony preserves the memory of the personnel who sacrificed their lives when serving on the Squadron. All are welcome to attend.
10 Squadron was formed at Farnborough on 1 January 1915 and, in this centennial year, please browse through our website which is administered by Dick King, a former VC10 captain on the Squadron. As a potential Association member, the committee hopes you enjoy reading the information on this site. After joining the Association, access to the Members' Area, where many past records and other items of interest await, will then be made available to you.
Michael Westwood
Chairman The 10 Squadron Association
This website is primarily for the interest of current, paid-up members of
The 10 Sqn Association.
Please Note that we have no research facilities for non-Association members.
The front page is available to all viewers but the second level will require registration and a log-in to enable access to the more detailed aspects of the site. To do this you must be a Member of the 10 Squadron Association. Joining details may be found in the "How to Join" menu at the top of this page. Should you write to us, by email using the "Contact Us" section, you should achieve a reply within a day or so.
We are always interested to hear from past Squadron members : aircrew, groundcrew and admin staff. Please get in touch by joining the Association. We could possibly then put you back in touch with past colleagues from your days on 10 Sqn. Why not write some words about your recollections of your time on the Squadron? If found suitable,these may be published in the "Ten Tales" section of the website. Better still, send us some photos.
See also our past Newsletters that have been compiled since the Association was formed in 1984.
( MEMBERS ONLY) - Click on the image above for the Latest Newsletter
By joining the Association you will also be able to view past Squadron Operations Record Books which are gradually being collected in our Archives Project 540 section.
In this age of identity theft and other nasties, we endeavour never to pass on personal and private information to anyone accessing either level of the site without the owner's specific permission being given by one of the site's listed administrators.
The information on this website has been compiled from various sources both privately and from the internet.
It is not our intention to deliberately omit acknowledging those whose information we may have used.
We will be only to pleased to publish such credits if we are so requested by the original sources via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
AIMS OF THE 10 SQUADRON ASSOCIATION
■ To preserve the spirit of comradeship founded during RAF service with 10 Squadron
■ To encourage and sustain a special relationship between 10 Squadron and its Association
■ To provide a focus for maintaining contact with former Squadron colleagues, by encouraging attendance at the Annual Reunion and Remembrance Day Service at the 10 Squadron Memorial
■ To encourage the collection and preservation of documents, photographs, anecdotes and memorabilia with which the Squadron's history may be enhanced
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THE 10 SQUADRON MEMORIAL
Imperial War Museum Register of Memorials - http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.31016/fromUkniwmSearch/1
The Memorial was designed by Norman Applleton
The annual
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
Service is held at the 10 Sqn Memorial, Melbourne, Yorks.
The short 15 minute service by the Memorial is usually followed by coffee and bickies in the restored former RAF Melbourne Control Tower, thanks to the generosity of the volunteer restoration crew.
We are grateful to Mr John Rowbottom, owner of Melrose Farm, for his continued support of the 10 Squadron Association, for his care and maintenace of the Memorial and for allowing us to hold our Annual Remembrance Service here.
Lunch at the nearby Plough Inn, Allerthorpe follows for those Association members who have previously booked with the Secretary.
Directions to the memorial situated at the entrance to Melrose Farm, Melbourne, North Yorks. YO42 4SS are given below:-
Note : If coming from York on Remembrance Sunday, the B 1228 is closed in Elvington between 1100 – 1200 hrs
for the Elvington Village Remembrance Day service and parade.
Through traffic is not allowed through Elvington to Sutton on Derwent and Melbourne.
FOLLOW THIS ROUTE INSTEAD (below)
From the A64 York ring road take the exit for the A1079 signed for Beverley & Hull. At 9.3 miles from the A64, opposite Barmby Moor Industrial Estate, take a right turn at the new roundabout, signed to Melbourne & Allerthorpe. (Road sign points to Pocklington Gliding Club to the left.) Pass through Allerthorpe, passing the Plough Inn, where we have lunch, on your right and take no exits from this lane until reaching Melbourne village from the east.
Turn left (south) into Campey Lane and left at the next T-junction. - sign post shows Seaton Ross 2 miles and Mkt Weighton 9 miles. Travelling east towards Seaton Ross, the Memorial is on the right after 1 mile adjacent to a large sign marked Melrose Farm. Adequate parking is available up the side tarmac, farm lane by the Memorial. Total journey distance from leaving the A1079 at Barmby Moor roundabout is 5.4 miles.
For Sat Nav users, the Memorial is at the entrance to Melrose Farm : Postcode = YO42 4SS
WAAF 75th Anniversary
10 Squadron Waafs at Melbourne in the 1940s
SALUTE THE WAAF - (Letter to ‘The Times’ – 24 May 2014)
Sir,
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). The role of women in the armed forces has never received the publicity it deserves. Over 24,000 women served during the First World War in the Women's Royal Air Force, which was formed on 1 April 1918 and disbanded in 1920.
However, with war threatening again, women were recruited into the Women's Auxiliary Air Force on 2 June 1939, to release men from support roles for the frontline. Within a year, tens of thousands of women had volunteered to serve. The first WAAFs were volunteers and could leave if they wanted to, but by 1941 the WAAF became subject to the Air Force Act. No fewer than 183,317 were volunteers, with a further 33,932 women called up from December 1941. Most were aged between 18 and 40.
Despite organisational differences which included a separate ranking system and lower pay than their male colleagues, and initial scepticism which greeted many WAAFs, this soon turned to respect and admiration, as time and again they proved their dedication and skill. The RAF came to recognise that women were capable of carrying out a wide range of jobs, including the strenuous Balloon Command, where women were able to replace brawn with technique, repairing and maintaining aircraft, meteorology, radar, communications as well as working with codes and ciphers, reconnaissance, photographic interpretation and even working behind enemy lines as part of the Special Operations Executive.
Most, but not all, WAAFs were demobbed at the end of the war; the WAAF became the Women's Royal Air Force in 1949. This was merged with the RAF in 1994.
Many missed the intense comradeship that the hardship and wartime experiences had created, so the Women's Auxiliary Air Force Association was formed in 1988.
The WAAF Association is still in existence and has opened its doors more widely to the women who followed them into the service, joining the WRAF and the women of the RAF, including those still serving.
SANDIE FALOON
WAAF Association. Slough. Berks
WAAF & WRAF Recruiting Adverts
Women in the RAF Today
Today women serve in all branches of the Royal Air Force, with the exception of the RAF Regiment. 96% of RAF jobs are open to women - the highest proportion in any of the Armed Forces. The majority of women are employed in administrative and technical ground trades but an increasing number are involved in operations. In 1994 Flight Lieutenant Jo Salter broke new ground by becoming the first operational fast jet pilot, flying Tornados with 617 Squadron. Since then, female pilots have flown operationally in various theatres, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
Their contribution was highlighted when, on 7 March 2008, Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman became the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Another milestone was reached in March 2009, Flt Lt Kirsty Moore of 13 Squadron was appointed the first female pilot in the Red Arrows.
The contribution of women to the RAF continues to grow and the lines between the sexes have become increasingly blurred. Even pregnancy, once considered grounds for discharge, is no longer a barrier for employment. However, one final taboo remains - the issue of women in face-to-face combat.
Despite serving in combat roles in the air, no woman may fight with the RAF Regiment on the ground. However, it is quite possible that this too may change in the future...
2013 Members of 10 Sqn escorting the Association Standard at the Annual Remembrance Day Service
at 10 Sqn's War Memorial, Melbourne, Yorks.
******
Amongst un-titled photographs in the 10 Sqn collection is this charming photo of a wartime Waaf at Melbourne.
Can anyone put a name to the young lady please?