Letter from the Squadron - 2010
…... including Sqn Ldr ‘Skids’ Harrison as OCA Flt who recently returned from Oman, Flt Lt Geoff Sheppard as the Exam Wing Representative and Flt Lt Jim Copple as the Training Officer who just returned from an ‘interesting’ tour flying Hawks in Pakistan. The Squadron also qualified Valley’s new Station Commander, Group Captain Hedley, who as a 5-tour Harrier weapons expert enjoyed the ‘challenges’ of instructing ab-initio students for the first time. He now realises that true flying reward comes from teaching a knowledge-thirsty student the intricacies of a stalling package (even if he hasn’t acknowledged it yet!)... The Squadron also said goodbye to 13 QFls including Flt Lt Stefan Wurwal who after doing an excellent job of representing the Squadron to the Naval Eight/208 Squadron Association for 3 years has handed over the reins to Flt Lt Tom Sawle.
Along with the usual flying training task the Squadron has continued to develop close links with the French Advanced Flying Training school at French Air Force Base Tours in the Loire Valley. This association has contributed to a tri-lateral agreement between the Belgian, French and British governments that allows all associated training bases to rapidly re-deploy to each other's countries should the weather turn poor at home. This agreement has already been tested on several occasions with the French operating out of RAF Valley and 208 Squadron operating from France.
Flt Lt Matt Barker completed his tour on 208 Squadron at the end of 2009 after a very successful year as the Hawk Display Pilot. Matt started the season well by winning the Wright Jubilee Trophy which is awarded by AOC 22 Group to the best display during the fly off for Public Display Authority (PDA). Matt went on to perform 70 displays at 50 different venues to an estimated audience of around 5 million as well as raising over £13,000 in aid of the RAF Benevolent Fund and local Station charities. The highlight of Matt`s season was a visit to Belgrade, Serbia, with the RAF returning to the country for the first time since the Kosovo Conflict of 1999. The whole event was very political, but nonetheless, very successful, with spectators numbering around 150 000, a figure which represented the country’s largest gathering in a decade.
Of course it hasn’t been all 
work during the last 12 months and despite ever-tightening financial constraints the Squadron has completed overseas training flights to locations such as Aalborg, there have been Force Development trips to GCHQ and the Hawk production facility at BAe Brough and a Staff Ride to London to investigate the development of our integrated Air Defence System in the run up to the Battle of Britain. With Flt Lt Roger Cruickshank now a creamie on the Sqn there will usually be some good news about skiing to report and this time is no different with Roger and Flt Lt David Stark both representing the RAF at the inter-Services Ski Championships with great success. OK, they didn’t win, but it was very close...
- Wing Commander Jamie Hunter
Letter from the Squadron - 2010 Page 1 2
