On its 100 day travels throughout the UK and beyond, visiting locations connected with, and spanning the 100 years of the Royal Air Force the RAF100 Relay Baton paused in King’s Lynn.
At 8.30pm on Wednesday 20th June it arrived in Lynn’s Tuesday Market Place on its journey, from locations in Lincolnshi
re, to rest overnight at RAF Marham. The baton is being carried on foot and in in a number of various types of transport by RAF personnel, cadets, veterans and other RAF related organisations.
The baton arrived in King’s Lynn in an RAF Mini Club car that was painted in Battle of Britain Memorial Flight tribute colours. There to greet the baton were members of 42F (King’s Lynn) Squadron Air Cadets together with their Commanding Officer, Flight Lieutenant Pauline Petch and Honorary Alderman of the Borough ‘Slim’ Wilkinson. The cadets brought along one of the model planes from their own RAF 100 Airfields of Norfolk project which has seen an upsurge of interest across Norfolk in the County’s RAF history.
Following a quick photo shoot, and with the light fading, the baton was driven off to RAF Marham, which with the recent arrival of the new F-35 Lightning II aircraft is an air base at the forefront of the RAF’s next 100 years.
The baton, made of brass, oak and aluminium to symbolise aircraft construction across the hundred years started its journey on 1st April at the Royal Courts of Justice and, having visited 100 sites associated with the Royal Air Force, will finish back in London on Horseguards Parade on 10th July.