R.A.F. REGIMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 156, 30 December 1944, Page 8

R.A.F. REGIMENT

PRESENCE FELT IN INVASION A dispatch to the London "Daily Telegraph" from Belgium in October said that few people in Britain were aware that while the Allied armies were .sweeping through France and Belgium the R.A.F. Regiment suddenly became one of the most interesting in the war. These "Marines" of the Air Force were given a task that was of the greatest importance to millions of people in England. They had to ensure that the home authorities were provided with all possible information about the flying bombs and the launching sites. They, were assigned the duty of helping when necessary to capture the sites, of keeping the equipment intact, and of safeguarding the technical experts hurried from England to make special examinations. So completely was the work done that the regiment had the satisfaction of, dealing with more than 300 sites and of giving considerable help in the laying bare of Nazi secrets. Officers and men devoted themselves to this duty with the greatest enthusiasm. Several had a special interest in doing so because their own homes had suffered damage. Highly trained soldiers of splendid quality, they were always on hand when any site lay in the path of our advance. Taking their place in the front line and reserving themselves only for their special task, they "never lost any time in reaching their objective. Constantly they showed themselves well able to deal effectively with enemy resistance and even to forestall attempts at demolition. They had to make their way through minefields and clean up ingenious booby traps, and they accomplished all they set out to do. It was just in the ordinary, course of their work that they arrived at one site east of Bruges that was holding out obstinately. Our troops/ outnumbered, asked for assistance. Could the newcomers direct some mortar fire on a point that was causing most trouble? Of course they could! With the third shot a direct hit was obtained. Whereupon it was apologetically explained on behalf of the man who had done the trick that speed of this kind had been necessary because "the colonel insists that we must not waste ammunition." When the regiment was formed in February, 1942, no one ever thought that one day in Belgium it would figure in an incident of this kind or that it would have such varied occupations. For the force came into being for the express purpose of defending our home air. stations. Public dissatisfaction over what was regarded as the inadequate protection against determined invaders became all the stronger after our experience in Crete. There was no doubt of the excellence of the personnel, for it consisted of men who in the majority of cases had tried to become members of air crews but had had to be rejected because of stringent medical requirements. They might not be able, for example, to fly at 30,000 ft, but they were perfectly fit for strenuous work on the ground. As our overseas commitments developed they proved themselves in. a dozen ways one of the most valuable forces we possess. Their work included defence of airfields, the manning of A.A. guns, exhibiting as practical a knowledge of aircraft as they have of soldiering, doing all guard duties, carrying out patrols and applying themselves to many airfield improvement schemes.