The Laying Up of the Standard of Number 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron of the Royal Air Force at St Michael’s Church, RAF Cranwell, 30 September 2025
Following 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron’s disbandment in 1982, its Standard has hung proudly within the Rotunda of the RAF College Cranwell. Inevitably time took its toll of this precious emblem and its condition had deteriorated to the point where it should be laid up for safe keeping. Several options for a final resting place were discussed, including the RAF Chapel within Lincoln Cathedral and the church at Waddington, but it was decided that the most appropriate and safest place would be the church of St Michael and All Angels at RAF Cranwell. Accordingly arrangements were made and the laying up ceremony took place on 30th September 2025.
It was a poignant event for the Association members present, implemented wonderfully well from start to finish. The laying up ceremony was in two parts: first the ceremonial dislodgement of the Standard from its place in the Rotunda of College Hall and then the laying up service in St Michael’s and All Saints Church. Flt Lt Scott Toomer and his Standard Party were superb. They were very smart and reminded us that the RAF can execute formal drill as well, if not better than, the other Services.
Sqn Ldr James Nightingale put the visit together and he gave an excellent and accurate resume of the Squadron’s history during the dislodgement ceremony beneath the College Hall Rotunda. The Standard Party brought the Standard down from its former resting place
then marched the short distance to St Michael’s Church where Padre Philip Craven delivered an inspiring address. He gripped the entire audience, and people could not have been more appreciative in their comments after the Service.
The final act was the handover of the Standard from Cranwell’s Standard Party to the original Standard Bearer (none other than your Editor) who then formally requested the Padre to receive it for safe lodging in perpetuity. Laying Up the Standard signified the end of an era, and we could not have asked for a better ending. Extracts from the service are reproduced below.
Padre:
It is an ancient and laudable custom to lay up in the House of God, the consecrated emblems of our duty and service, there to remain for all time as a reminder of duty well done and the strength that God supplies.
Standard Bearer:
Padre, I ask you to receive the King’s Standard for Number 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron for safe lodging until such time as it shall pass to dust, like those whose courage and devotion are enshrined in its history.
Padre:
We receive the Standard into the safe keeping of God’s House, here to hang for all time as a reminder to those who pass by of our duty to God, to our Sovereign, and to our country.
I can summarise the day no better than Flt Lt Scott Toomer, the Cranwell Standard Bearer, in his email to our President soon after the event:
I will of course pass on to the Collage Warrant Officer and FS’s McDermott and Griffiths your thanks, but I know I speak for all of us in saying it was very much our pleasure to be a part of what was both a sad, but historical day. The Squadron Standard has been a proud part of the College for many years and it is a mark of the affection with which it is held by all who work in CHOM, that when the receptionist asked what we were doing she said she would be very sad to no longer be able to see it as it had been there for as long as anyone could remember. For myself I will always look upon that day with pride. Pride to have been a part of such a special occasion but also pride in being part of an organisation that sees the memory of those who go before us celebrated and remembered with such emotion.
If you, or indeed any of the No 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron Association members ever need anything or would like to view your beloved Standard one more time, please do not hesitate to contact me, I would be delighted to help.
Kindest regards,
Scott Toomer
A poem by Kevin Lawry
The silken folds lie quiet on the altar.
It had begun with full military drill
And ended with dignified reverence.
But here, when it is still,
Questions leap to mind.
How can that faded banner
Represent, In World War II alone,
One thousand and fifty six men,
Who died?
The tens of thousands of hours flown?
Until it fades into dust?
Something says, No, it must be preserved,
Surely they deserve more.
Then it hit me,
That faded standard, writ with
Honours gained in battle,
Home Defence 1917, Invasion Ports and Channel,
North Sea, South Atlantic,
Ruhr, Berlin and Rhine;
Bloody battlefields in the sky,
Bears witness to men about to die.
It hardly seems fine enough,
Strong enough, for the enormous task
Of telling those who later ask,
“What was number 44 Squadron in its day?”
This group of ordinary folks
Called to the task of war
Would draw target maps, get their chutes,
Walk out with banter
And hopeful jokes
And, some prayers.
Faces lifted to the sky,
Hands raised to shield the eye.
Then turn and walk to their machines
To do their duty, far off in a foreign night.
A duty fraught with risk, fire and fright.
The bravery, the fear,
The agony and pain,
The grieving families, for those
Who would never see home again.
The grinding on the nerves, will it ever stop?
Is this the night we might get the chop?
All those memories are now laid upon the altar.
Our Squadron’s colour pass to dust?
Yes, of course it must.
As we in our time will follow.
For now, in the life left to us,
We, each year hold dear, the memory of them;
As in the early morning light,
They glide back over the Lincolnshire Wolds,
To land at Spilsby, Waddo or Dunholme,
Duty done, all now
Remembered in those silken folds.
Kevin J Lawry
November 2025
