Project ENTERTAIN
Welcome to our new RAF and RAF Association-themed online entertainment service, launched to offer support to our RAF community during these unprecedented times.
We aim to provide you with companionship and (hopefully!) amusement during what could otherwise be a lonely and gloomy time for many of us.
Scroll down to browse and take part in what’s on this week.
ARCHIVE: WEEKS 21-24
WEEK TWENTY FOUR
Tuesday 1 September at 11am: A conversation with Air Vice-Marshal David Cooper
Air Vice-Marshal David Cooper joined the Royal Air Force in 1988 and became a Tornado GR1 navigator, completing four flying tours and two ground tours in the Combined Air Operations Centre in the Middle East.
While posted to the UK’s Joint Force Headquarters, David’s frequent deployments included the Tsunami relief operation in Sri Lanka (Op GARRON) and an evacuation from the Ivory Coast where he was responsible for running the UK’s air operation in Ghana (Op PHILLIS).
In 2008, David assumed command of No.617 Squadron, ‘the Dambusters’, before becoming RAF Marham’s Station Commander. He also completed a 12-month deployment as the Director of Air Operations in HQ ISAF Joint Command, Kabul overseeing NATO air operations in Afghanistan. He commanded No.2 Group between 2017 and 2019, with responsibility for the RAF’s Air Mobility Force, the RAF Police and the RAF Regiment.
David currently holds a Reserve role supporting Headquarters Air Command. Since April 2020 he has also been a full-time employee of Nova Systems for whom he is their Defence Capability Programme Account Manager.
Join us on Zoom on Tuesday 1 September at 11am – all you need is an internet connection, and a device to view this web link on. Please note that if you are using a mobile device you may be asked to download the Zoom app which is free of charge. We will be ‘locking’ these sessions after 15 minutes on the session.
Tuesday 1 September 2pm-4pm: RAFA Request Radio
DJ Darren will kick September off with the latest and greatest tunes. And don’t forget, you can get your requests in too via the Radio For The Masses website or studio@impact-radio.co.uk
Thursday 3 September at 11am: A conversation with Aviation Historian Chris Goss
Join Chris for his last session before he takes a break. He will talk to us about The Owl and the Salamander, and Heinkel’s End of War Ground Breaking Fighters.
Join us on Zoom on Thursday 3 September at 11am – all you need is an internet connection, and a device to view this web link on. Please note that if you are using a mobile device you may be asked to download the Zoom app which is free of charge. We will be ‘locking’ these sessions after 15 minutes on the session.
Listen to the 'Out of the Blue' podcast
Having been joined over the past few weeks by Chris Long and Dim Jones, two of the members responsible for the ‘Out of the Blue’ series, (you can find their sessions here) we wanted to share their latest works with you.
“There’s a saying in the Royal Air Force: if you can’t take a joke, you shouldn’t have joined. It’s a perfect example of the wry humour that permeates the mind-set of service personnel, and it resonates throughout this book. Whether the tale is set in the air or on the ground, it offers a glimpse of what life was, and probably still is, really like in the RAF.
Over a period of two years, three ex-military pilots, who joined the RAF on the same day and have been life-long friends, collected the stories. Sometimes terrifying, occasionally outrageous, and frequently funny, they show that the business of flying military aircraft sporadically throws up challenges that even the most capable of aviators struggle to meet.”
'Adventures in History' from the Imperial War Museum
This week we recommend you join IWM expert Vikki as she shares real life stories of celebration and revelry in the wake of the VE Day announcement of 1945. Vikki will be sharing personal stories from those who remember taking to the streets to celebrate the end of the Second World War in Europe.
WEEK TWENTY THREE
Tuesday 25 August at 11am: A conversation with trailblazing RAF engineer Terri Hawkins
Terri joined the RAF 1986 as an aircraft technician. Unlike today, at this time it was relatively rare to find women in RAF engineering trades. In fact on arrival at her first posting, RAF Brawdy, she found that she was only the fifteenth non-married member of the WRAF ever to have been posted there – and the only ‘techy’.
Terri’s fascinating story is an inspiring example of resilience against prejudice, preconceptions and unforeseen challenges. Thanks to her determination, she ended up joining 101 Sqn at RAF Brize Norton, where she flew around the world maintaining the VC10 fleet.
Join us to find out more about the life of a female RAF engineering technician in the 1980s and 1990s, and how Terri’s experiences have shaped her subsequent life and career.
Join us on Zoom on Tuesday 25 August at 11am – all you need is an internet connection, and a device to view this web link on. Please note that if you are using a mobile device you may be asked to download the Zoom app which is free of charge. We will be ‘locking’ these sessions after 15 minutes on the session.
Tuesday 25 August 2pm-4pm: RAFA Request Radio
DJ Darren is back this Tuesday for another two hours of tunes. Our Head of Information Security has been playing the songs of your choice for a few weeks now and has quickly become a high point of our week!
Get your requests in soon via the Radio For The Masses website or studio@impact-radio.co.uk
Thursday 27 August at 11am: A conversation with Group Captain Dim Jones
A former Lightning pilot, Group Captain (Ret’d) Dim Jones also flew with the USAF as an instructor pilot with 62nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at MacDill AFB, Florida, operating both the Lightning and F-16.
Dim’s RAF and USAF experiences have provided him with plenty of material for the ‘Out of the Blue’ series of books and podcasts he has created with RAF friends Chris Long and Ian Cowie. So far these have raised just over £90,000 for a range of military charities, and are also available from the RAF Association’s website.
Pull up a sandbag and join Dim for more entertaining real-life yarns from ‘Out of the Blue’!
Join us on Zoom on Thursday 27 August at 11am – all you need is an internet connection, and a device to view this web link on. Please note that if you are using a mobile device you may be asked to download the Zoom app which is free of charge. We will be ‘locking’ these sessions after 15 minutes on the session
'Adventures in History' from the Imperial War Museum
We are continuing to enjoy the activities our amazing museums have been doing during lock-down and we love the Imperial War Museum’s Adventures in History sessions. This week’s session is about the role of artists and painting during the war.
Did you know that artists play an essential role in war efforts? Find out more by joining IWM experts Becky and Paris as they share real life stories of artists, and the invaluable role they played during the Second World War. War artists didn’t just paint scenes on the battlefield, they also captured everyday life and showed how ordinary people’s lives were shaped by war.
WEEK TWENTY TWO
Tuesday 18 August at 11am: A conversation with Kristy-Jo Hockaday
Join Kristy-Jo to discuss life both during and after the RAF, and how her current career has been influenced by her military service.
“I joined the RAF at AFCO Manchester at the age of 16 after finishing my GCSEs. After basic and secretarial training I was posted to my first unit – PSF at RAF Kinloss. I loved spending my teenage years in North Scotland and embraced all the sporting opportunities I could.
This posting was followed by tours in the Falkland Islands, RAF Aldergrove, RAF Honington, APOD Basrah, ACHQ Al Udeid, PJHQ Northwood, AFCO Manchester, MDHU Northallerton and my final posting at RAF Valley.
On leaving the RAF, I worked in various managerial roles before deciding to focus on a new career. In 2016, I began teacher training as part of the Troops to Teacher scheme and in 2018 I took my first post as a fully qualified Religious Education Teacher. I am now also an active member of the RAF Association’s WRAF Branch.”
Join us on Zoom on Tuesday 18 August at 11am – all you need is an internet connection, and a device to view this web link on. Please note that if you are using a mobile device you may be asked to download the Zoom app which is free of charge. We will be ‘locking’ these sessions after 15 minutes on the session.
Wednesday 19 August 2pm-4pm: RAFA Request Radio
DJ Darren is mixing it up this Wednesday, live for two hour of tunes. Our Head of Information Security has been playing the songs of your choice for a few weeks now and is proving a firm favourite with many of you!
During this time, you can send your requests via the Radio For The Masses website or studio@impact-radio.co.uk
Thursday 20 August at 1pm: A Battle of Britain Exploration, in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Join aviation historian Chris Goss and staff from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in this one-off Facebook Live, where we will be exploring all things Battle of Britain. We will be chatting about key dates, flying aces, women’s roles, casualties of the battle, the 303 Squadron and Polish involvement, the legacy that the battle has left us today and much more!
Join us on Facebook Live on Thursday 20 August at 1pm.
Get Cooking: Recipes from our friends at Wilkin & Sons
This week’s recipe is an Elderflower Gin Fizz – a refreshing drink on any day, whether sunny or rainy!
Wilkin & Sons have launched three craft spirits in partnership with the RAF Association; Tiptree Spitfire Vodka, Tiptree Hurricane Gin, and Tiptree Lancaster Spiced Rum. These full strength 40% ABV spirits have been made in the heart of Essex using locally sourced East Anglian potatoes, Tiptree-grown fruit, and the occasional extra sprinkle of Tiptree magic. Every bottle you buy will help the RAF Association give life changing support to RAF personnel, veterans, and their families. A minimum donation of £2 will be made to the RAF Association for each bottle sold – head over to their website to take a look!
Recipe:
Elderflower Gin Fizz
50ml Tiptree Hurricane Gin
25ml Elderflower Cordial
2 teaspoons Tiptree Lime Marmalade
50ml Lemonade
25ml Prosecco
3 Cucumber rounds
Ice
Etched 454g cocktail glass
Cocktail shaker
Straw
Pour the gin and elderflower cordial into the cocktail shaker. Add two heaped teaspoons of lime marmalade and a scoop of ice. Set to one side.
Fill the cocktail glass with ice and add three cucumber rounds. Now shake the mixture in the cocktail shaker for 30 seconds and strain into the cocktail glass. Add the lemonade and top with prosecco and a straw then enjoy!
Adventures in history from the Imperial War Museum
We have been having a great time getting to know what our amazing museums have been doing during lock-down and we love the Imperial War Museum’s Adventures in History sessions. We have picked out a few and will be sharing these with you over the next few weeks.
What does the D in D-Day stand for? And why was 6 June 1944 so important?
Join IWM expert Holiday this week as she answers those questions and reveals some of the exciting secrets and stories behind D-Day. Discover the planning behind this top-secret mission and what took place to make it happen.
WEEK TWENTY ONE
Tuesday 11 August at 11am: A conversation with Squadron Leader Mark ‘Disco’ Discombe AFC, Officer Commanding The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
‘Disco’ initially flew the Jet Provost and then became the RAF Tucano display pilot as a 23-year-old Flying Officer. Over the next ten years he accrued more than 2,200 hours on the Jaguar and became the Jaguar Force’s Central Flying School Agent and Command Instrument Rating Instructor, He also flew peace keeping missions over Bosnia and Iraq, partook in all the varieties of ‘Flag’ exercise at the time, and was one of the key cadre of pilots to expand the Jaguar’s night attack role.
Disco joined the BBMF in the autumn of 2014 and during his first display season in 2015, the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, flew both the Hurricanes Mk.IIc and the Merlin-engine Spitfire Mk.LFIXe and Mk.LFXVIe. It was during this time, with only 30 hours on the Hurricane, he was awarded the Air Force Cross for the successful forced landing of a Hurricane Mk.IIc following a major oil leak, which had also covered the windscreen.
During 2016 he progressed to fly the ‘baby’ Spitfires, Mk.IIa and Mk.Vb, and eventually during 2017 the Griffon-engine PR.XIX. Sqn Ldr Discombe became a full-time member of the Flight in the Spring of 2018, to mature the aircrew training documentation, before taking command of the Flight on 21 October 2018.
Join us on Zoom on Tuesday 11 August at 11am – all you need is an internet connection, and a device to view this web link on. Please note that if you are using a mobile device you may be asked to download the Zoom app which is free of charge. We will be ‘locking’ these sessions after 15 minutes on the session
Wednesday 12 August at 11am: A conversation with Air Marshal Sir Graham Stacey KBE CB
Air Marshal Sir Graham Stacey served in the Royal Air Force for almost 40 years in a wide range of appointments, rising to be the most senior RAF Regiment officer in the history of the Corps and finishing his career as the Chief of Staff of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk USA.
Prior to that, in a series of major international appointments, he was the deputy commander of NATO Joint Force Command Brunssum, the Commander of British Forces Cyprus and the UK Senior Advisor to US Central Command and General David Petraeus. He commanded at every level, including RAF Honington, No. 1 TacSTO HQ and 54 and 15 Sqns RAF Regt, and completed operational service in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, The Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He is currently a Non-Executive Director of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and with the Natural England Research Council and undertakes a number of other mentoring, consulting, advising and charity roles.
Join us on Zoom on Wednesday 12 August at 11am – all you need is an internet connection, and a device to view this web link on. Please note that if you are using a mobile device you may be asked to download the Zoom app which is free of charge. We will be ‘locking’ these sessions after 15 minutes on the session.
Wednesday 12 August 2pm-4pm: RAFA Request Radio
DJ Darren is mixing it up this week, he is live on Wednesday for two hour of tunes. Our Head of Information Security has been playing the tunes of your choice for a few weeks now and we are so pleased with the great feedback we have been getting.
During this time, you can send your requests via the Radio For The Masses website or studio@impact-radio.co.uk
Friday 14 August at 11am: RAF Museum Life Stories session: The Hidden Heroes: Canadian Jewish airmen who helped save England in the Battle of Britain
We have teamed up with the RAF Museum as part of their Life Stories series. On the 80th anniversary of the August 1940 Luftwaffe attacks on Adler Day (Eagle Day), we are joined by Ellin Bessner for: ‘The Hidden Heroes: Canadian Jewish airmen who helped save England in the Battle of Britain.’
The author of “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII”, Ellin brings you the untold story of the Canadians who were among “The Few”: the brave RAF pilots who fended off those deadly bombing raids during the Battle of Britain.
Her presentation will highlight these Jewish volunteers in the RAF (and also the RCAF) who served at great personal risk, should they be captured and their faith be discovered by the Nazis. They came to England for King and Country, and also to save their own people from Hitler’s Final Solution.
You will learn about Canada’s top Spitfire Ace, F/L William Henry Nelson, DFC. Ellin will show you why his name is on both the Battle of Britain Memorial in London, and at Capel-le-Ferne. Stay tuned for a surprise special guest.
Books can be purchased through Amazon UK, or for those overseas on Ellin’s website.
Join us on Zoom on Friday 14 August at 11am – all you need is an internet connection, and a device to view this web link on. Please note that if you are using a mobile device you may be asked to download the Zoom app which is free of charge. We will be ‘locking’ these sessions after 15 minutes on the session.
Saturday 15 August: Get musical this VJ Day!
Back to ‘wow’ our audience and celebrate this VJ Day, check out our schedule of entertainment on this special Saturday.
Join us at 2pm for Miss Sarah Jane who will be singing all her family-favourites.
The amazing Andy Wilsher at 3pm will be back with a bang!
Join them on Facebook Live on Saturday 15 August
Get Cooking: Recipes from our friends at Wilkin & Sons
This week’s recipe is a Spiced Rum Punch – perfect to sip this VJ Day whilst listening to Andy and Sarah-Jane.
Wilkin & Sons have launched three craft spirits in partnership with the RAF Association; Tiptree Spitfire Vodka, Tiptree Hurricane Gin, and Tiptree Lancaster Spiced Rum. These full strength 40% ABV spirits have been made in the heart of Essex using locally sourced East Anglian potatoes, Tiptree-grown fruit, and the occasional extra sprinkle of Tiptree magic. Every bottle you buy will help the RAF Association give life changing support to RAF personnel, veterans, and their families. A minimum donation of £2 will be made to the RAF Association for each bottle sold – head over to their website to take a look!
Spiced Rum Punch – Recipe
- 50ml Tiptree RAF Lancaster Spiced Rum
- 2 teaspoons Tiptree Pineapple Conserve
- 75ml Orange juice
- 75ml Pineapple juice
- Slice of fresh pineapple
- Ice
- Etched 454g cocktail glass
- Cocktail Shaker
- Straw
Pour the rum into the cocktail shaker. Add two teaspoons of pineapple conserve and a scoop of ice. Shake together and pour into the cocktail glass. Fill the glass with ice. Pour in the orange and pineapple juice. Garnish with a slice of fresh pineapple and a straw then serve.
Adventures in history: Learning Resources from the Imperial War Museum
We have been having a great time getting to know what our amazing museums have been doing during lock-down and we loved hearing about what the Imperial War Museum’s Adventures in History sessions. We have picked out a few and will be sharing these with you over the next few weeks.
This week we recommend you join Imperial War Museum’s expert Craig, as he shares real life stories about brave pilots and the aircraft that flew from IWM Duxford. He’ll tell us about a pilot who succeeded against the odds and share stories of his furry co-pilot.
