RAF in Camera: 1980s – The Later Years by Keith Wilson provides a visually rich account of the Royal Air Force during the transformative latter half of the 1980s. This continuation of Wilson’s earlier work examines the RAF’s operational and technological evolution during a pivotal decade for British military aviation.The period witnessed the retirement of iconic aircraft like the English Electric Lightning in 1988, symbolizing the end of a Cold War era. Simultaneously, the RAF intr...

When the King’s Flight was officially formed in 1936, passenger flying was very much in its infancy. Creating the Royal Flight was a most innovative action by King Edward VIII, although members of the Royal Family had enjoyed a passion for flying almost since the dawn of aviation: during a visit to Paris in 1909, King Edward VII met the Wright Brothers and watched them demonstrate their new ‘Flying Aircraft’. In order to facilitate flying members of the Royal Family, the Royal Air Force of...

When RAF Transport Command was created in March 1943, it was formed by the renaming of Ferry Command. The delivery of aircraft from manufacturers to operational units had been ongoing since the start of the Second World War; but was significantly intensified by the supply of American machines flown across the Atlantic from 1940. Later, Transport Command took over the role of dropping paratroops. It even undertook the ferrying of mail from the UK to troops fighting across Europe, using spec...

On 1 April 1918, the Royal Air Force came into being. It celebrated its first 100 years on 1 April 2018. The aim of this book is to offer an alternative insight into what has really impacted on the RAF during its first century. Many people will recall Hurricanes and Spitfires standing firm against the invading Luftwaffe but how many will remember the Chain Home radar system or the key role played by the Fighter Controllers? The parachute and ejector seat saved many lives, permitting pilots...

In July 2018, the nation looked skyward over Buckingham Palace in awe as the Royal Air Force celebrated its first 100 years with a spectacular parade and flypast over London. This event demonstrated a very different perspective of the RAF; well away from its operational commitments. The expertise and precision of those RAF pilots flying in some of the most famous aircraft in the world has been displayed since the very first days of military aviation. The Inter-War period was dominated by t...

A photographic record of the Royal Air Force in the mid-twentieth century.The 1950s was a pivotal decade in aviation for many reasons. The RAF were employed in a great number of post-World War II roles, and the beginning of the Cold War saw many advances in the field of developmental aviation. The early years of the decade saw the Coronation of HRH Queen Elizabeth II take place, and a variety of photographs taken at the Queen's Review fly past at RAF Oldham on July...

Once man had mastered the ability to fly, there came the desire to fly faster, higher and further with increased payloads. Some of the earliest experiments with air-to-air refuelling occurred in the 1920s and as long-distance record attempts progressed, Alan Cobham was in the thick of it. Cobham would later revolutionise air-to-air refuelling, initially with the ‘Grapple-line looped-hose’ system, along with the formation of Flight Refuelling Limited (FRL). By the 1930s, the emphasis was on...

The 1970s were an event-filled and action packed decade for the Royal Air Force. Many events are worthy of note and all are recorded here, in words and images. Keith Wilson takes up from where he left off with RAF In Camera 1960s in order to take us on a journey through a particularly significant decade.The start of the 1970s saw the retirement of the Dakota from service, followed shortly after by the formation of the first Buccaneer NATO Squadron. In 1972, the landmark RAF Museum ...

When the expansion of the RAF began in 1934, Air Commodore Tedder observed that the established order of school training not only failed to produce operational competence, but left so much to be done by the operational squadrons that they could only attain passable military efficiency after an uphill struggle. He proposed to raise the standards of school instruction so that pilots would leave the facility as operationally competent pilots, although it would mean lengthening the period of i...

RAF Coastal Command was founded in 1936 when the Royal Air Force restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands. During the preceding inter-war years, maritime aviation had been seriously neglected due to the disagreements between the Royal Navy and the RAF over the ownership, roles and investment in maritime air power. Consequently, the new Command quickly became known as the ‘Cinderella Service’. However, the Command played a key role in the Allied Victory during the Second World...

The conventional portrayal of George Augustus Selwyn, the first Anglican bishop of New Zealand, focuses upon his significance as a missionary bishop who pioneered synodical government in New Zealand and acted as a mediator between settlers and Maori. George Augustus Selwyn (1809-1878) focuses on Selwyn’s theological formation, which places him in the context of the world of traditional high churchmanship, rather than the Oxford Movement narrowly conceived. It argues that his distinctivenes...

Through original essays from a distinguished team of international scholars and Hardy specialists, A Companion to Thomas Hardy provides a unique, one-volume resource, which encompasses all aspects of Hardy's major novels, short stories, and poetryInformed by the latest in scholarly, critical, and theoretical debates from some of the world's leading Hardy scholarsReveals groundbreaking insights through examinations of Hardy’s major novels, short...