A local lad from Tynemouth lead the Newcastle's Battle of Britain celebrations on Sunday.
Squadron Leader Alistair Jackson from Tynemouth, who is stationed at Royal Air Force Boulmer, volunteered specially for the job. "When I found out that they needed someone to lead the parade through Newcastle, I stepped forward straight away. It is always a great honour leading the Battle of Britain celebrations, but to do so in your home town is even better". Alistair, recently returned from operations in Afghanistan, joined the RAF after serving as an Air Cadet on 346 (Tynemouth) Squadron. He graduated from the RAF College at Cranwell as an officer and started his training as a fighter controller at RAF Boulmer. "It's quite nice coming back to Boulmer and the North-East after having served all over the UK." He told us.
The parade marked the 68th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the 90th anniversary of the formation of the RAF.
The Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor David Wood and the station commander from RAF Boulmer, Group Captain Jane Millington reviewed the parade as over 100 RAF personnel, 150 air cadets and the band of the RAF Regiment marched past St Thomas the Martyr Church near the Haymarket. But the biggest round of applause was for the 100 or so veterans who marched past as Douglas Dakota DC-3 from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flew overhead. Leading the veterans for the third year running was the band from 346 (Tynemouth) Squadron. For Alistair, an ex-band member, this struck a particular chord. "It was great to see so many young air cadets taking part in the parade, but it was really nice to have the band from my old
Squadron leading the veterans. With some many air force personnel serving on operations, it is important that we make the connection between our operational commitments today and what the air force had to achieve in 1940. We should never forget the extraordinary efforts of those few men and woman who worked so hard and gave so much to defend their country against the threat of invasion. "