Category: News and Events

Dear Members, Friends and Colleagues…

It has come to that time of year again when Lisa and I need to start sending out invitations to join and represent RAFMuSA at this year’s Cenotaph Parade on Sunday 10th November 2024.

Please could I ask all of you who feel able to attend, to consider attending this year in particular. Unfortunately, due to not meeting our allocation in previous years we have only been able to secure 20 places this time.

Although it is an occasion where we remember and pay respect to all our colleagues who we have sadly lost,  I am mindful that next year 2025, will be the 40th anniversary of the accident in Germany. Unfortunately, if we continue not fulfilling our allocation, RAFMuSA participation as a separate unit in the Parade will be withdrawn, and it will mean any RAFMuSA members still wanting to take part will be required to march with another RAF Unit.

If you can take part, it’s very easy to apply. Simply go to the application form, fill it in and submit it. Please apply by 19th July, as we have to submit applications by the beginning of August.

If you have applied already but are now unable to come, please let us know as soon as possible so your place can be allocated to somebody else. My contact details are on the inside back cover of The Blue and the Gold.

— Paul Sargeant
RAFMuSA/RBL & Media Representative

Paul Sargeant writes:–

It will not be long now before I have to make our submission to the Royal British Legion for our participation in this year’s Memorial Service and march past in Whitehall, London on 12^th November 2023. There are still some places left in our Music Services contingent, but we are limited to 25 only, and these will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The Royal British Legion will not be allocating any extra places after our initial application, so to be sure of a place you need to apply sooner rather than later.

The RAF Music Services is held in the highest esteem all over the world and we should be all so proud of this. Please consider (bearing in mind each of your personal circumstances) being part of this enjoyable and worthwhile event this year.  It’s an opportunity to feel proud and enjoy meeting up with like-minded ex-service members, not only from RAF Music services, but also from all other services.

I can say from personal experience, and those of our colleagues who have attended in the past, that the atmosphere and comradeship is unbelievable and it is a totally memorable day.

If you decide you wish to take part, the quickest and easiest way to apply is to complete the online application form. Alternatively you can phone or email me – you can find my phone number and email address on the inside back cover of The Blue and The Gold. Whichever you choose you must do it before 18^th August 2023.

Paul Sargeant
RAFMuSA/RBL & Media Representative.

We had to announce in February that we would not be able to hold our usual reunion this summer because the bands are going to be extremely busy starting with the Coronation, and are unable to host the event. We are now able to confirm that this year’s reunion will be in the evening of Friday 22nd September at RAF Northolt, starting at 6.00pm. Following a Sunset Ceremony performed by RAF Central Band, there will be a buffet consisting of a choice of curry or a vegetarian option, and then a social where we will be entertained by a jazz band provided by the Music Services. As a bonus this year the whole evening will be free of charge, and will be open to all ex-RAF musicians and their guests, not just members of the RAF Music Services Association.

Timings are expected to be as follows:-

18.00 Reception
18.45 Sunset Ceremony
20.00 Buffet at The Sword and Wheel club (Sergeants’ Mess)
20.30 Jazz Band and social
22.30 End

We hope you will wish to attend. Numbers may be limited so you are advised to apply early to be sure of getting a place (and certainly by 1st July). An application form will be sent to RAFMuSA members with The Blue and the Gold, or you can download the form here and print it. Once you have completed the form you can either post it to the Membership Secretary or scan it and send it by email (details are on the form).

We look forward to seeing you in September.

A message from Paul Sargeant, RAFMuSA / RBL Representative…

For only the second time in the Association’s history we are planning to participate on Remembrance Sunday again this year, at the Cenotaph in London on November 8^th.

In the current circumstances you may be wondering, like me, whether the Remembrance Sunday ceremony will take place at all. However the latest update I’ve received from The Royal British Legion is that we should still submit our application in the required time frame. I have been assured by the RBL that they will keep me informed on a regular basis as to any changes or cancellation plans.

If you would like to join our contingent, you can apply online using the application form. Alternatively you can download and print a paper application form, fill it in and send it by post (the address is on the form).

Please apply as soon as possible. I will keep everyone informed of any news I receive from The Royal British Legion

– Paul Sargeant.

UPDATE: Unfortunately this concert has had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales. We are reviewing the possible reasons for this, but we hope this will lead to us being able to arrange another concert more successfully.

We are excited to announce that the RAF Music Services Association will be promoting its first ever concert on Saturday 2nd November 2019, Music in the Air, featuring

The Band of the RAF Regiment*

at the Salvation Army Hall, Boscombe in Bournemouth.

Come and hear an exciting and varied programme of music guaranteed to impress. The bands of the Royal Air Force are rightly regarded as being among the finest Military Bands in the UK, and they perform all over the UK and internationally – you will be guaranteed a memorable evening of music and entertainment.

For more information and to buy tickets, go here.

All proceeds from the concert will go to support the work of the RAF Music Services Association.

The Salvation Army Hall is at 76 Palmerston Road, Bournemouth, BH1 4HT. View on a map.

*The Band of the RAF Regiment plays by permission of the Air Force Board of the Defence Council.

A Memorial Service and commemoration was held at RAF Northolt on 11th February 2015, the 30th anniversary of the tragic road accident at Langenbruck, Germany, in which 19 Musicians from the Band of the Royal Air Force Germany, an RAF Policeman and their coach driver lost their lives. Here are some photos of the occasion

The winter edition of The Blue and the Gold would normally have been sent to you by now, but it’s going to be a little late this year because Norman Blow recently spent a month in India. We are now planning to print it on 31st January, and all being well it should be posted some time the following week. Norman tells me there are 36 pages including the covers, so it should be worth the wait.

In the longer term we are considering changing the publication dates from Summer and Winter to Spring and Autumn. This would have two advantages. If we send the Spring edition in March we could include the details and application form for the reunion, thus saving postage from not having to send them separately. Secondly the Autumn edition in September could include reports and photographs from the reunion while it’s still fresh in everyone’s mind. What do you think? Let us know using the comment form below.

Talking of the reunion, it’s now confirmed that it will be on the 7th July at Northolt, with dinner on Saturday 6th, probably at the Barn Hotel again. So put those dates in your diary, we’ll be sending out full details and an application form in a newsletter in a few weeks time.

The first item of news here has to be this website itself. This is a new site published by the Royal Air Force Music Services Association, and as I write there is still a lot work to do before it can be considered ready for public consumption. The Association has been in existence for some 25 years, its purpose being to provide a means for ex-Royal Air Force musicians (whether they were full time bandsmen or members of the many voluntary bands) to keep in touch with friends and colleagues from their service days, and with the contemporary RAF Bands and currently serving members of the Music Services. It’s now time to start taking advantage of the Internet to facilitate these objectives.

The site has two main aims:–

• To make information about the Association available to anyone interested, including the Association’s purpose and its activities, and to help advertise the Association to anyone eligible to join.
• To provide a source of information about the Association and its members which is private and available only to the active members, to help people make contact with old friends, for example.

I’m sure these aims will grow and evolve as the site develops, in ways which are impossible to predict. We hope it will become an ever more useful resource for the membership, and will serve to publicise the work of the Association to a wider public.

Before we get there, though, there is much work to be done…!