Tom Pearce served in the RAF from 1970 to 1972 as a ground technician. After leaving the Service he and his wife adopted Ali, a girl who was born with severe heart problems and Down Syndrome. As Ali grew older the family became increasingly concerned [...]
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Anne Lawson served in the RAF for 13 years. After leaving she moved with her husband to the United States. Unfortunately the marriage broke down, and so she decided to return to the UK with her two children. In order to kickstart her career, Anne [...]
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Gordon left the RAF in 1987. Then, in 2002, he and his wife discovered that their son Lewis suffered from a rare, life-limiting condition – Sanfilippo disease – which would make caring for him a full time job. To begin with, they would have to [...]
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David Thompson served in the RAF from 1974 to 2001. During his career he saw service in the Falklands, the first Gulf War, East Timor and Afghanistan. David’s wife Denise also served in the RAF for 15 years. After leaving the service, David concentrated a large [...]
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Sgt Roger Davidson served in the RAF Police for 25 years until his untimely death in 1999 aged 43. He left a widow, Caroline, and three daughters. Caroline’s mother had died of cancer only four months previously while Caroline was also caring for her father, [...]
Princess Marina House is the RAF Benevolent Fund’s flagship resort. Set in spacious grounds on the foreshore at Rustington in West Sussex, the home offers short-term breaks for former members of the RAF, and their dependants. This Service background shared by guests helps create a [...]
Jacqui Thompson, the widow of an RAF Regiment Gunner killed in Afghanistan, successfully scaled Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund. Jacqui, 43, from Sherwood, Nottingham, took on the challenge to honour the memory of her husband, SAC Gary Thompson, and to [...]
Carl Harding served in the RAF as a teacher at RAF College Cranwell. He commuted to work on his motorbike every day for a year until one night he was hit by a van, head-on, at the crest of a hill. The collision left Carl paralysed [...]
Tony Rogers is a World War II veteran and Polish citizen who flew Lancasters, Spitfires and Wellingtons throughout the Second World War. In 1990 Tony had a stroke that left him with limited mobility and unable to walk more than a few yards. This loss of [...]
Did you know: There is a memorial to Polish airmen who died fighting alonside allied forces in World War Two near RAF Northolt.
David Holmes served in the RAF for twenty years, beginning his career as a mechanic and leaving as a Chief Technician. While he was still serving he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, and as time went by he experienced increasing difficulty with his hands and [...]
Sgt Bob O’Connor was killed when the Hercules aircraft he was travelling in was brought down over Iraq in January 2005. Corinne Knight, his partner, was left devastated. But instead of being able to grieve, she had to deal with a lack of support and [...]
Louise joined the RAF in 1999 aged 18. In 2004, on her return from Iraq, she was involved in a road traffic accident, which left her in a coma. She suffered a fractured skull, neck injuries and brain damage. After two months, Louise gradually regained consciousness [...]
Sgt Dave Jones has served in the RAF since 1983. Recently Dave was diagnosed with a degenerative disease called Cerebellar Ataxia, which affects his balance and speech, and could eventually leave him in a wheelchair. Dave’s family realised they would have to make their home [...]
Joanna Martin was looking forward to a second tour of Iraq when she suffered a life-changing accident. During routine training Joanna fell 20 feet from a cargo net and suffered a spinal injury. She is now paralyzed from the chest downwards. Since the accident, Joanna has [...]
After she left the RAF, Karen Burton’s son Ruari was diagnosed as Autistic. Karen found it very hard to find the time and money to care for the demands of an autistic child. Then a friend in the local area approached the RAF Benevolent Fund on [...]
Kevin left the RAF in 1988. In 2004, his three-year-old son, Rhys, was diagnosed with ‘Nemo’, a life-threatening genetic defect. The only hope of survival for Rhys was an entirely new immune system. However, to have the operation, Rhys would have to go to Newcastle [...]
Christopher served as a Chaplain in the RAF. Christopher found his job harder and harder as the pressures of counselling men returning from the Falklands War mounted. He took a turn for the worse when friends in the RAF Germany Band were killed in a [...]
Corporal John Pilkington has served in the RAF since 1986 and is married with five children, the youngest of whom, Katie, suffers from Stage three high-risk Neuroblastoma, a cancer in the adrenal glands. John and his wife Susan were struggling to juggle the demands of Katie’s [...]
Ben Shields served in the RAF for 34 years, enjoying postings around the world. He left the Service in 1994, looking forward to retirement in Scotland with his wife, Bridie. However, in 2001 Bridie was clinically diagnosed with dementia. Her symptoms began slowly, but her [...]
Winnifred Paul and her husband, Neville, who served in the RAF during WWII, had been unable to do any DIY at home for many years. Winnifred is disabled and finds walking hard. Neville had Alzheimer’s for many years before he died in 2007. Repairs went undone [...]
Roger Morewood served in the RAF for twelve years. During the Battle of Britain he flew Hurricanes, Bristol Blenheims and Beaufighters, performing a number of duties, including protecting convoys in the English Channel. Roger left the RAF for three years, before returning as an instructor [...]
30 RAF servicemen died on exercise in 1965 when their Handley Page Hastings aircraft crashed. This terrible accident confirmed the need for the RAF Benevolent Fund to set away money for disasters which were quite unforeseeable. By 1969 we had allocated £60,000 in assistance to the [...]
Did you know: The Hastings was the predecessor to the Lockheed Hercules in RAF service and was heavily involved in the Berlin Airlift. The Hastings pictured here is in Christmas Island, 1956.
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