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Marshal of the Royal Air Force, The Right. Hon. The Viscount Trenchard
Lord Trenchard founded the Royal Air Force in 1918, in the last year of the First World War. Once the war had ended, he became acutely aware of the suffering of demobilized airmen. Unlike soldiers and sailors, airmen had no charitable fund of their own to turn to, despite suffering over 16,000 casualties during the war.
It was against this background that Lord Trenchard set about creating the RAF Benevolent Fund. Its remit then was to provide direct welfare assistance to those of the extended Royal Air Force family in need or distress. Today, the Fund’s purpose remains the same.
The image shows Lord Trenchard addressing personnel during his tour of RAF units in the Middle East and North Africa in 1942. The Audio clip is of an appeal Lord Trenchard made on behalf of the RAFBF in 1941.
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Photo courtesy of the Imperial War Museum
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