RAFA Luxembourg Queen's Platinum Jubilee Ball Raises €1.7k for RAF Community & Ukrainian Refugees

The Luxembourg branch of the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA), a military charity that supports the RAF community, held various activities over the weekend, including the 2022 RAFA Annual European and Overseas Area Annual Conference and a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Ball.

On Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July 2022, the RAFA Luxembourg Branch organised this year's RAFA Annual European and Overseas Area Annual Conference, which was the occasion to take stock of the activities of the past year and to discuss and decide on projects for the coming years.

The conference began on Friday with a presentation from the RAFA headquarters, represented by Joe Stanfield, RAFA Area Director Scotland & Ireland. Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Charlie Eliot, Chairman of the RAFA Luxembourg Branch, confirmed that this was the occasion to affirm the work that the RAFA undertakes for both the military charity, which supports serving and retired personnel (and their families), and the raising of funds for the host nations' local charities. The opening of this international conference was followed by a buffet dinner for members who had travelled to Luxembourg City from the Costa Blanca North, southwest France, Switzerland, Guernsey, Jersey, Amsterdam, Germany and Belgium branches.

On Saturday morning, the main portion of the meeting's agenda was concluded. Following this, the members of the European & Overseas Area went to Hollerich Communal Cemetery to commemorate the airmen of the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) who gave their lives in defence of freedom during the Second World War and are buried there. Special guests included Fleur Thomas, the British Ambassador to Luxembourg, Maurice Bauer, alderman of the City of Luxembourg (Ville de Luxembourg – VdL), and Karen Wauters, the Honorary Consul of Canada in Luxembourg. The Luxembourg Army mounted an honour guard to welcome the principles and then paraded at the graveside. Serving RAF officers from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, together with the Canadian Defence Attaché from The Hague, travelled to join the President and Chairman of the RAFA European and Overseas Area, Air Marshal Sir Graham Stacey, who is also the President of the RAFA Luxembourg Branch, in this remembrance of the fallen.

As Charlie Eliot explained, of the nine RAF and RCAF airmen buried in Hollerich, two airmen were killed on the first day of the German invasion of Luxembourg. Flight Lieutenant B R Kerridge and Flight Lieutenant E R Parker were flying Fairey Battle aircraft and had taken off from Reims in France to defend the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg at the start of the invasion of Luxembourg on 10 May 1940. Their targets were the bridges on the border and their attack was aimed at stopping the troop columns moving into Luxembourg. However, the speed of the invasion forces that morning had already allowed enemy forces to set up anti-aircraft units well inside the Grand Duchy’s borders. Mr Eliot elaborated: "Unfortunately, the Fairey Battle was a slow and outdated aircraft and many of the aircraft launched that morning fell prey to the attacking force. Some aircraft managed to fly back to friendly territory in France badly damaged with wounded crews but the majority of these aircraft were shot down and the crews did not survive".

The other seven airmen formed the crew of a Stirling bomber which was hit by ground fire over Saarbrucken (Germany) and crashed near the village of Koerich (western Luxembourg). The bomber was returning from a night raid on 11 March 1943 and the damage inflicted on the aircraft caused it to lose too much altitude to allow the airmen to parachute to safety.  The crew consisted of four RAF personnel (Flt.Sgt. FA Barley, Pilot Officer RH Genesis, Pilot Officer TJ Ryder and Pilot Officer FA Terry) and three RCAF members (Pilot Officer EA Allen, Flying Officer PG Freberg and Warrant Officer HE Nesbitt).

On Saturday evening, the conference participants, together with friends and members of the wider RAFA Luxembourg family, came together at Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Ball, organised by the RAFA Luxembourg Branch and held at the Novotel Hotel in Luxembourg-Kirchberg. The honoured guest on this occasion was Honorary Consul of Canada Karen Wauters and her Defence Attaché from The Hague. "An excellent evening was had by all and the evening raised €1,700 which will be split between the RAFA and the Luxembourg Ukraine Refugee Fund", summarised Charlie Eliot. "The Royal Air Forces Association is committed to comradeship, remembrance and welfare. Together with our host nation, RAFA Luxembourg carried out these three aims over this weekend. The branch would like to express its thanks to both Luxembourg Ville and the Luxembourg Army. The Army’s presence demonstrates the importance the Grand Duchy places in maintaining the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the fight for freedom. Villmools Merci to all who took part".