Honourable Company of Air Pilots
Thread Starter
Honourable Company of Air Pilots
GAPAN (the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators) is no more.
Royal Charter
Last Wednesday 19 February, our own Flying Lawyer presided over a splendid Banquet held at the City of London Guildhall to celebrate not only the grant of a Royal Charter to what used to be GAPAN but HM The Queen bestowing upon it the title 'Honourable Company'.
Several other livery companies have obtained Royal Charters over the centuries but only one other has ever received this rare honour, when King George V bestowed the title on the Master Mariners.
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh being welcomed by HH Judge Tudor Owen, Master of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots
The Master and the Duke with Alderman Sir David Howard Lord Mayor Locum Tenens & City Sheriff Adrian Waddingham
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach Vice Chief Defence Staff
Mrs Maria Evans & Air Vice Marshal Edward Stringer ACAS
Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Benjamin Bathurst
Lt Cdr Chris Barber OC 847 Naval Air Squadron
Air Marshal Barry North
Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire
Air Cdre & Mrs Malcolm White
Air Cdre Rick Peacock-Edwards (Past Master)
Gp Capt Tom Eeles
Rear Admiral and Mrs Colin Cooke-Priest (Past Master)
Gp Capt & Mrs Roger Gault (Past Master)
Sqn Ldr Nick Goodwyn & fiancée
More to follow when the carrier pigeon refuels on the way from wet and damp UK to warm and fireswept Australia
Royal Charter
Last Wednesday 19 February, our own Flying Lawyer presided over a splendid Banquet held at the City of London Guildhall to celebrate not only the grant of a Royal Charter to what used to be GAPAN but HM The Queen bestowing upon it the title 'Honourable Company'.
Several other livery companies have obtained Royal Charters over the centuries but only one other has ever received this rare honour, when King George V bestowed the title on the Master Mariners.
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh being welcomed by HH Judge Tudor Owen, Master of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots
The Master and the Duke with Alderman Sir David Howard Lord Mayor Locum Tenens & City Sheriff Adrian Waddingham
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach Vice Chief Defence Staff
Mrs Maria Evans & Air Vice Marshal Edward Stringer ACAS
Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Benjamin Bathurst
Lt Cdr Chris Barber OC 847 Naval Air Squadron
Air Marshal Barry North
Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire
Air Cdre & Mrs Malcolm White
Air Cdre Rick Peacock-Edwards (Past Master)
Gp Capt Tom Eeles
Rear Admiral and Mrs Colin Cooke-Priest (Past Master)
Gp Capt & Mrs Roger Gault (Past Master)
Sqn Ldr Nick Goodwyn & fiancée
More to follow when the carrier pigeon refuels on the way from wet and damp UK to warm and fireswept Australia
Thread Starter
Honourable Company of Air Pilots' Banquet
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh presents a sword to HH Judge Tudor Owen (Master)
commemorating the granting of a Royal Charter and Honourable status.
"I know you'll find it very hard to believe that the Duke of Edinburgh would speak his mind."
Honourable Company of Air Pilots Judge Tudor Owen
Guildhall London
commemorating the granting of a Royal Charter and Honourable status.
"I know you'll find it very hard to believe that the Duke of Edinburgh would speak his mind."
Honourable Company of Air Pilots Judge Tudor Owen
Guildhall London
Could be the last, the order of dress for this Royal Banquet stipulated 'white tie', which is traditional for royal functions.
For RAF officers, the equivalent is Full Ceremonial Evening Dress (No. 5A SD), which includes a white waistcoat and white bow tie; for officers of the Royal Navy, I believe that it is No 2A Dress, which includes a white waistcoat but a black bow tie. There will be a plethora of equivalents for the Army, of course!
No 5A used to be worn at Officers Mess Summer Balls; however, the practice was discontinued many years ago and is now, I understand, only required at evening functions if royalty is present.
For RAF officers, the equivalent is Full Ceremonial Evening Dress (No. 5A SD), which includes a white waistcoat and white bow tie; for officers of the Royal Navy, I believe that it is No 2A Dress, which includes a white waistcoat but a black bow tie. There will be a plethora of equivalents for the Army, of course!
No 5A used to be worn at Officers Mess Summer Balls; however, the practice was discontinued many years ago and is now, I understand, only required at evening functions if royalty is present.
I remember being issued with a white waistcoat, white stiff-fronted shirt and single ended bow tie (black) at the Towers in 196.........3. Single ended bow tie was a bu@@er to tie, ISTR
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Crossing over from the apocryphal stories thread....
There is the tale of a newly graduated RAF Regiment acting pilot officer who went to Buckingham Palace as part of QCS when they were given the honour of mounting guard for a couple of weeks. Being off duty one evening, the said officer was invited to dine with the "Family". Knowing nothing of horses and corgis, the conversation passed over his head as he sat there looking miserable. Prince Philip decided to break the ice:
"Tell me young man. The army regiments all seem to arrive with mess dress in several colours and styles and yet you RAF chaps always seem to wear the same thing."
"Well Sir", the Rock triumphantly replied as he at last knew something that he could contribute. " I am wearing No 5B Mess Dress which has a black bow tie, a soft white golf-ball shirt, and a blue waistcoat. We also have 5A dress which was a white waistcoat and a stiff wing collar, but we only wear that on special occasions".
There is the tale of a newly graduated RAF Regiment acting pilot officer who went to Buckingham Palace as part of QCS when they were given the honour of mounting guard for a couple of weeks. Being off duty one evening, the said officer was invited to dine with the "Family". Knowing nothing of horses and corgis, the conversation passed over his head as he sat there looking miserable. Prince Philip decided to break the ice:
"Tell me young man. The army regiments all seem to arrive with mess dress in several colours and styles and yet you RAF chaps always seem to wear the same thing."
"Well Sir", the Rock triumphantly replied as he at last knew something that he could contribute. " I am wearing No 5B Mess Dress which has a black bow tie, a soft white golf-ball shirt, and a blue waistcoat. We also have 5A dress which was a white waistcoat and a stiff wing collar, but we only wear that on special occasions".
Wensleydale, I believe that story was recounted by the Prince of Wales?
Wasn't the final comment from the Duke "Such as dining with the Queen?".
No newt, no rituals or brotherly grips are practised!
Wasn't the final comment from the Duke "Such as dining with the Queen?".
No newt, no rituals or brotherly grips are practised!
Gentleman Aviator
What a splendid evening it was! And the "post party party" in the Cowdray Room was a good one too!
5A did indeed used to be worn "when ladies were present", and so was the rig at Summer Balls and LGNs, but IIRC (which I may not
) was worn with black tie.
There were a few black tie wearers with Mess Kit last week (yes you are guilty Sir Stephen!!), and even the occasional cummerbund.
There seemed to be very few proper stiff shirts with separate starched collars, and rather too many soft fronted "wing collared" shirts for my liking, which one might associate with travelling salesmen .......
One half expected them to be matched with white socks and suede shoes......
And as to the single-winged cohort, one did glimpse a VSO (pilot) pointedly obscuring the words "Incorporating Air Navigators" on the menu with his knife!
5A did indeed used to be worn "when ladies were present", and so was the rig at Summer Balls and LGNs, but IIRC (which I may not
) was worn with black tie.There were a few black tie wearers with Mess Kit last week (yes you are guilty Sir Stephen!!), and even the occasional cummerbund.
There seemed to be very few proper stiff shirts with separate starched collars, and rather too many soft fronted "wing collared" shirts for my liking, which one might associate with travelling salesmen ....... One half expected them to be matched with white socks and suede shoes......
And as to the single-winged cohort, one did glimpse a VSO (pilot) pointedly obscuring the words "Incorporating Air Navigators" on the menu with his knife!
ISTR that, by the time I left in 1973, we'd ditched wing collars, stiff fronts & studs and gone for turn-down collars, a change of which I thoroughly approved.
Don't recollect seeing white tie with messkit; we just wore the white waistcoat instead of the blue - or perhaps I never attended anything sufficiently grand.
Don't recollect seeing white tie with messkit; we just wore the white waistcoat instead of the blue - or perhaps I never attended anything sufficiently grand.
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Still in possession of the white waistcoat, tie and stiff shirt and collars ... albeit a bit yellowed and probably now too small (they seem to shrink over time) 
I have no regrets about the general withdrawal of 5A ... bloody painful if you sat down carelessly, an uncomfortable rig when standing, and one invariably got the shirt creased when installing the studs.
I have no regrets about the general withdrawal of 5A ... bloody painful if you sat down carelessly, an uncomfortable rig when standing, and one invariably got the shirt creased when installing the studs.
Rumour at Cranners during flight cadet days was that the 5A mess kit (stiff-fronted shirt, detachable winged collar, white waistcoat, black bow tie) was required because females were only allowed over the threshold twice a year for grad balls, and once you had your 5A on it functioned better than the average chastity belt. (It was always useful the following day to keep your eyes peeled to locate and restock collar and shirt studs that had popped-off during the evening.)
ISTR that one of the main reasons for the demise of the outfit was the increasing difficulty in finding laundries that could actually wash and starch the shirt and collar.
ISTR that one of the main reasons for the demise of the outfit was the increasing difficulty in finding laundries that could actually wash and starch the shirt and collar.
Old Bricks, I remember wearing 5A for your Grad Ball, to which those of us who'd escaped to University were invited. I was staying overnight in Grantham and can assure you that trying to drive a car with a wing collar trying to cut ones throat is emphatically not to be recommended! Her ladyship of the time thought it most amusing though....
Perhaps another reason for the demise was that increasing numbers of oikish individuals had taken to wearing elasticated bow ties
, which could not be worn with a wing collar?
Perhaps another reason for the demise was that increasing numbers of oikish individuals had taken to wearing elasticated bow ties
, which could not be worn with a wing collar?
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Air Cdre Chris Luck Commandant RAF College Cranwell & Robert Pooley (Past Master)
Sqn Ldr Chris Ford
AVM Ray Pentland, Chaplain in Chief RAF, ACM Sir Stephen Dalton, Mrs Christine Pentland
Capt John Robinson & AM Ian Macfadyen
Formerly Poacher 1 & Poacher 3
Sir Gerald & Lady Howarth
AVM & Mrs Steve Nicholl
Col Andrew Cash Regimental Colonel Army Air Corps
Fg Off Ben Chapman RAFVR(T)
?
Wg Cdr Naeem OC London Wing ATC
AVM David Stubbs
BEagle
In those days, a chap could drive from Cranwell to Grantham in full mess kit at dawn without any busybody even suggesting that one was anything but stone-cold sober. It's all gone downhill since then.
In those days, a chap could drive from Cranwell to Grantham in full mess kit at dawn without any busybody even suggesting that one was anything but stone-cold sober. It's all gone downhill since then.
Very impressed by the splendid record of the whole affair -and fascinated by the wingspan of the white tie Air Vice Marshal Nicholls is wearing.
He could easily have spared half of it for CAS, and indeed I'm surprised that no career-conscious junior officer offered to swap ties....
He could easily have spared half of it for CAS, and indeed I'm surprised that no career-conscious junior officer offered to swap ties....
He could easily have spared half of it for CAS, and indeed I'm surprised that no career-conscious junior officer offered to swap ties....
Edited to add ....
Just had a look at his bio. He is retired but
Dalton was appointed as Honorary Air Commodore to the RAF Regiment on 21 September 2013, in succession to Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns