RAFA Costa Blanca Items Of Interest Page 1

HRH The Princess Royal officially opened the
RAF Association Remembrance Garden at the National
Memorial Arboretum on Monday 28th September 2009.
The ceremony was conducted byAir Vice Marshal Peter Mills,
the RAF Chaplai in Chief. Veterans Minister Kevan Jones
also attended.
The central feature of the garden is the RAF Association emblem
- a three metre high stainless steel eagle with its wings aloft,
perched on top of the world. The magnificent eagle is surrounded
by a segmented RAF roundel separated into four quarters to
depict the RAF Association at the heart of RAF welfare.
Princess Anne was presented with a wreath to lay at the
memorial by Christina and Elizabeth Williams, the daughters
of Flt Lt David Williams, a GR4 Navigator, who was killed in
Iraq whilst on active duty on 22 March 2003.
Those present on the day included well over 1000 members of the RAF past and present, from
WWII veterans all the way through to current personnel who have served in theatres such as
Iraq and Afghanistan.
The garden was particularly poignant for the family members of several servicemen who were
killed recently whilst on active service. They were at the garden for the unveiling and were
introduced to the Princess Royal afterwards.
One such family member was Geoff Dunsmore, the father of SAC Chris Dunsmore (29), who
was killed in Iraq on 19 July 2007. He was the first RAF reservist to be killed in combat since
World War II. Chris was resting from his duties when an insurgent rocket hit the
accommodation hut he was in. Fifteen personnel were injured in the attack, three of them fatally.
It was the RAF’s worst multiple losses in Iraq since 30 January, 2005, when nine RAF servicemen
were killed following a helicopter crash in Baghdad. Chris had served four months in Basra. He
was due to fly home
for ten days leave on the evening of the day he was killed. During this period of leave, he would
have celebrated his 30th birthday with family and friends.
Geoff said: “This garden helps to keep Chris’ memory alive for me. It is an uplifting occasion
where we can celebrate the lives of those we have lost. It is vitally important to remember our serving men and women and now I know they are remembered. The remembrance garden really is stunning and a fitting tribute to all who have served in the RAF. It makes me feel very happy.”
The inspiration for the remembrance garden comes from the RAF Association’s Dedication - the end line of which is ‘we will remember them’.
It is an opportunity for anyone who has an interest in the RAF to remember and celebrate the life of departed loved ones. The garden will preserve the memory of serving and ex-serving members of the RAF for many years to come.