The magic of Disney was born, the Egyptian King Tutankhamun’s tomb was opened, and the first National Christmas Tree was lit. Yes, they all celebrated their centenary in 2023! Not only that, this year temperatures topped 100 degrees, there were devastating earthquakes, our planet Earth was not only scorched by deadly fires but now hosts over 8,000,000,000 people! We had the start of the Israeli-Gaza war and Hollywood went on strike for months. An old Prime Minister from the past, David Cameron returned to cabinet, and David Tennant returned to Dr Who. ‘Barbie’ went head-to-head with ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbieheimer’ was born. The world seemed to turn pink for a while….and Artificial Intelligence seems to be infiltrating every area of our life (but you’ll be pleased to know that this has been written by your very human MCO!) It all happened this year and we haven’t even started on our calendar yet….!
So let’s take a trip down the path of time and see what we did in 2023.
Charity
Jo walked 1,000,000 steps, Lucy ‘burped’ her way into the history books by doing 250 burpees every ninety minutes for twenty-four hours…. and Alan ‘pressed’ up and down doing 100 press ups a day for an entire month. The Digital team sold to the highest bidder with their auction and the Halloween cake stand gave everyone a ghoul of a time. ‘Dark Souls’ and ‘Elden Ring’ faced those brave enough to do the twenty-four-hour Video Gaming Esports Assoc challenge or a vintage Porsche awaited those willing to do the twenty-four-hour LeMans Challenge organised by the Thunderbolts Esports Group. And those thrifty ladies from the 3 Site Thrift Shop were in overdrive raising funds for some four-legged friends….
Yes, it was all for charity and Diabetes UK, Samaritans, Hounds for Heroes, RAFA, Royal Star & Garter, Papyrus & Scotty’s Little Soldiers were just a few of the charities who benefitted to the tune of thousands of pounds by the kind hearts and efforts from those on Station……
the RAF Digital auction and some ghoulish-ly good cakes!
Events
We saluted old comrades on Armed Forces Day and mingled with our hundreds of supporters at the Annual Formal Reception. The Dambusters became octagenerians when we celebrated the 80th anniversary of those historic bombing missions and welcomed Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris’ daughter, Jackie Assheton, to join in the commemorations……
Blue lights flashed as our Military Co-Responder team scooped the Make a Difference Award for the work they have done in treating and saving lives…..and we became High Honey-combe as thousands of new friends joined our first beehive (no sting to this story, that’s for sure!) and our leaders of tomorrow graduated from our first Leadership Course in a year. We celebrated the fantastic work of Women in Science and Women in Engineering by showcasing the talents of our female personnel on camp….
course attendees
Children from Danesfield School gave us the reality of being a military child and the summer got off to a rollicking start with our It’s a Knockout challenge – wet sponges, bouncy castles, giant costumes and a barrel full of laughs met all who took part!!
The Coronation of King Charles III Art Competition portrait winner
A billion eyes fell on Westminster Abbey as Great Britain heralded the Coronation of the new King Charles III – something that a whole generation have never before witnessed. There was pomp, ceremony, tradition and art competitions! Not to be outdone, our wonderful local schools coloured, crayoned, highlighted and dazzled us with their crowns and portraits fit for a monarch….
Interviews
Opposite your MCO we had some very illustrious guests in the chair being interviewed…. RAF High Wycombe were first in the queue to catch some time with the new CAS, Sir Rich Knighton and who would have thought he loved Gogglebox??!! We flew high in the air with fighter ace AVM Godfrey and our esteemed Chaplain-in-Chief AVM Legood gave us a candid view of military chaplaincy life. The cherry on the cake was quizzing world famous thriller writer and Buckinghamshire resident Frederick Forsyth on his National Service days as an RAF pilot and that famous book about a Jackal….. For the many people I interviewed this year I give my heartfelt thanks for sharing your stories, telling me your life histories and helping others through their personal experiences.
The Venerable Dr Legood & Space Command's AVM Godfrey
Sports
In the sport arena it was a near-miss on the world stage as England’s Lionesses reached the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney, only to lose to Spain (we won’t mention that infamous kiss either!) The England Rugby team were also pipped at the post by losing 15-16 to South Africa in the semi-final…….
There were no near-misses for those at High Wycombe. In fact, we hit the bullseye every time…… We hosted our first Inter Mess Challenge with JNCOs, SNCOs and Officers – with Flt Lt Goddard securing victory and the plaque for first prize…… WO Stead proved age is no barrier to success when he continued to turbo-charge his way to victory at the RAF table Tennis Champs winning two of the four finals and retaining the Mixed Doubles title for the second successive year…. Our Women’s Netball team made a clean sweep of all seven matches to scoop the Spring Tournament Trophy…..and together with RAF Northolt, High Wycombe pipped RAF Leeming by eight wickets to be crowned T20 Cricket Cup Final winners…. Go High Wycombe!! The rocket who is Sgt Ivory continued to amaze by polishing off the year doing the Atlantic Coast Challenge – three marathons in three days totalling seventy-nine miles……. Another fifteen ultra marathons and he has his place in the elite ‘100 Marathon Club.’
the RAF Netball winners, maverick runner Sgt Ivory & the RAF HWY Cricket team.
The RAF Police proved that all you need is endurance and a strong will to tackle the Trailwalker challenge – 100km in thirty hours or less across the rugged South Downs. Blistered feet, cold, dark nights and no sleep met our intrepid four, but they crossed that finish line in twenty-one hours to victory whilst raising thousands for the Gurkha Welfare Trust. We salute you Flt Lt Thorogood, Sgt McKenna and Corporals Dawson & Grieves!
Visits
We continued to attract the great and good to our hallowed site including TV presenter Dan Snow, US Lt General Noham and Lt General Luyt…… and 1 Group accepted a painting from Brian Hemingway, son of the last surviving 104 year-old Battle of Britain pilot, Gp Capt Paddy Hemingway…..We welcomed back sweethearts Pauline & Jim Hovell whose first date was a St Valentine’s Day dance at RAF Wycombe, to celebrate 50 years of marriage in 2023….
& the St Valentine's Day lovebirds.....
Eighty-six-year-old former SAC David Lyu revisited his old National Service haunt when he entered the 1 Site gates for the first time since 1957 – some sixty-seven years later! The body may have aged, but the memories of teenage youth came flooding back… And the SO1 of the MPGS, Lt Col Aaron visited from Andover to pay homage to the first Nepalese Heritage Centre on 3 Site and wonder at the achievements of the Nepalese community.
& the Nepalese Heritage Centre visit.
Remembrance
As the eve of the year approached our Station took time to quietly reflect on those who gave their lives for our country. The annual Remembrance services filled our hearts and minds, and for the first time we went on camera to commemorate those who had fallen with a series of poems read by RAF High Wycombe personnel including In Flanders Fields, For the Fallen, The Kohima Epitaph, Remember Me & The Soldier.
Services at All-Saints Church, the local Walter’s Ash Community Centre and a 1 Site Remembrance Muster reinforced our respect for the fallen.
Christmas
As the tinsel and the trees went up for Christmas, our Station went into joyous mode to spread cheer and good will to all. Our amazing Community Support team led the charge to ensure our deployed personnel received their Christmas food parcels packed with treats – able assisted by Mollie the dog!
& Molly the dog with relief parcels for those deployed
Our resident RAF historian and all-round stalwart Mr Brown donned the Santa Claus suit to delight children at the grotto…… and our wonderful veterans were given the royal treatment with a festive dinner complete with a children’s choir and music from a RAF band……... For those with a sweet tooth the Novelty Cake competition attracted some devilishly inventive creations…..And there were certainly no fowl-ups at the Turkey Trot where some crazy people in fancy dress chased a human-sized turkey around the sports pitch. Believe me, it was no peck-nick trudging through the mud and feathers were bound to fly….!!
Did you catch all that? Take a breath and reflect on what an incredible year we have had. As we close the door on 2023 and welcome a leap year in 2024, we look forward with hope. A Happy New Year to all!
