Contents | 1 CONTACT
Telephone: 01780 781650, email:
enquiries@raf-ff.org.uk or via the website
raf-ff.org.uk
Envoy – The magazine of the RAF Families Federation, published 4 times a year.
To have your FREE copy delivered quarterly to your home, email
enquiries@raf-ff.org.uk or via our website
raf-ff.org.uk
Director: Maria Lyle
Communications Manager: Caroline Woodward
Communications Assistant: Nick Crouch Evidence Manager (Acting): Todd Fellows
Evidence Assistant (Housing): Stan Brathwaite
Regional Covenant Managers: Graeme Spark MBE, Jo Wilkinson, Lisa Thipthorp and Dani Robertson
Transition Liaison Manager: Louise Briggs
Dispersed Families Project Manager: Tor Johnson
Office Manager: Ruth McClelland
Published quarterly by Method Publishing, a division of Scottish Provincial Press Limited, on behalf of Envoy
Design and Typography: © Method Publishing 2018
Editorial Matter and Illustrations: © Envoy Printed in Great Britain by: Warners Midlands plc
Advertisement Office (UK): Method Publishing, 64 Main Street, Golspie, Sutherland, KW10 6TG Contact Chris Cappie on 01463 732223 or email
c.cappie@
methodpublishing.co.uk
Front cover: Flt Lt Seb Davey taxying the BBMF Dakota out for a practice display in 2018 © Lisa Harding, Props & Portraits.
CONTENTS
FEATURES 8
12 16
Te RAF Families Federation is an independent organisation parented by the RAF Association
Spotlight on a BBMF Bomber Pilot
Experiencing The ’18 Annington Challenge
RAF100 Himalayan Venture 18
FEDERATION 18 20
FINANCIAL 28
Accommodation Matters
DIO developing the new SFA contract
rafa.org.uk Registered charity number
England and Wales 226686 Scotland SCO37673
Te RAF Families Federation is supported by the RAF Benevolent Fund
SPOUSES IN BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT 24
26 32 08
Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 Explained Pension Sharing
HEALTH & WELLBEING 33
Supporting the Unsung Hero as it celebrates fifth anniversary
Update from the InDependent Spouse and meet ‘Mothers in Enterprise’
34 35
RAF Benevolent Fund’s Mindfulness pilot extended
RAF Charity seeks to Tackle Loneliness
Reading Force – sharing family time at home or away
36-37 Operation Christmas Box
Welcome from the
editor
We have a great mix of things to share with you in this edition of Envoy. As well as our regular housing news from Stan, I was also out being a fly on the wall watching some of our RAF youngsters take part in an outdoor expedition – The 2018 Annington Challenge. What a great bunch of young people we have in our family and hopefully one interviewee, Josh Clark will inspire some of your sons and daughters to apply for the next 2019 challenge.
We also had the absolute pleasure of welcoming one of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Bomber Pilots, Flt Lt Seb Davey to our offices here at Wittering. As we plied Seb with our poshest (and normally hidden I might add) chocolate chip cookies, he shared some lovely stories with us and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did listening to him.
Finally, I’d like to welcome Maria Lyle to the Federation fold as our new Director. Maria joined us at the end of October and you can meet her in the Director’s note, overleaf.
rafbf.org Registered charity number
England and Wales 1081009 Scotland SCO38109
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raf-ff.org.uk | Winter 2018 | ENVOY
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