Heartened by generosity: we always are!

LAST month’s vandalism at London’s Bomber Command Memorial highlighted the very worst and the very best of our communities.

I cannot thank your readers enough for their incredible support in the wake of this shocking paint attack in Green Park.

To date we have received more than £25,000 in donations to help the RAF Benevolent Fund meet the repair bill.

Repair works have now been completed on the memorial and it is now returned to its former glory.

As well as the donations received, the RAF Benevolent Fund had thousands of messages of support from around the world.

It was heart-warming to see how well the memorial, the veterans and the 55,573 men it stands to represent are thought of.

We must never forget their sacrifices and the RAF Benevolent Fund is proud to be the guardian of this tribute to their legacy, for generations to come. As the fund enters its 100th year of support for the RAF family, we must not forget those veterans who are still with us.

Our aim this year is to ask for the public’s help in reaching more of these veterans and their families, while we still can.

Our support could help pay for the care costs of an RAF widow, or provide for mobility aids to keep an elderly veteran at home, or simply allow a veteran to enjoy his retirement in dignity and comfort, through a regular financial grant.

Put simply, the RAF Benevolent Fund looks after the RAF family. If you know someone in need of support, contact our free support line 0800 169 2942 or email mail@rafbf.org.uk

Air Vice-Marshal David Murray Chief executive RAF Benevolent Fund