The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Call to includeRAF crest on memorial
An RAF veteran is calling for the force’ s famous emblem to be inscribed on the war memorial in Pitlochr y, which currently features only the Army and Navy crests.
Retired squadron leader Ian Gilbert, 88, recently noticed his former unit does not feature in the symbols engraved on the monument, which was erected in 1922 and also remembers RAF casualties from the Second World War.
Mr Gilbert, who served in the RAF for 16 years, told The Courier: “The RAF came into being on April 1 1918 – seven months before the Armistice and several years before the monument was built.
“But while the monument displays crossed rifles for the Army and an anchor for the Royal Navy, there is no symbol for the Royal Air Force.
“The First World War casualties recorded in stone appear all to be from the two older services but names of the fallen from the Second World War were added later and include several RAF names.
“I think this omission needs to be corrected promptly.”
Mr Gilbert believes 2022 would be a good time to unveil the updated crest.
He said: “The monument was built in 1922, so it would be good to get it for the centenary – that would give them a target.”
Between 1955 and 1971, Mr Gilbert served in the RAF across England, Germany and Bahrain.
He said: “When I came out of the RAF, I moved to be a school teacher and did that for 15 to 16 years and then I retired in Pitlochry.”
While in his teaching post at the Royal High School in Edinburgh, Mr Gilbert had Ian Blackford MP, the SNP leader at Westminster, and Ken Macintosh, the presiding officer at the Scottish Parliament, as his pupils.
Perth and Kinross Council says it is open to the idea of adding the RAF crest as long as the correct permissions are sought.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Any request for additions to established war memorials would require the council to follow a number of steps including seeking listed building consent or scheduled monument consent.”