Group Captain Braid praised 208 Squadron’s achievements:
“Most of the fast jet pilots in the RAF and the 
Royal Navy over the last 22 years have graduated from Valley. All of these pilots have been trained by 208 Squadron, so we look back not only at its links to RAF Valley and the Hawk T1, but over the last 100 years with a great deal of pride. All the personnel of 208 – military, civilian and contractor – can be justly proud of the part they have played on such a historic squadron.”
Despite the awful news, everyone present was determined that the Squadron would bow out in the finest traditions of its proud and illustrious history, and there was still much more to celebrate.
Launch of ‘Forever Vigilant’
The first of which was the launch of Graham Pitchfork’s eagerly-awaited definitive history of the Squadron – ‘Forever Vigilant’, the publication of which had been brought forward by Herculean efforts from Graham to meet the 1 April deadline of the Centenary Celebrations.
Taking its title from the squadron’s motto, ‘Vigilant’, the book starts with the formation of Naval 8 as a scout squadron on the Western Front during the First World War, during which 26 of its pilots became aces – a remarkable statistic. It then continues through the various conflicts that Naval 8/208 Squadron has played a key role in, including the Second World War and Gulf War. The unit’s move to Egypt in the inter-war years as an army co-operation squadron, which inspired the Gizah Sphinx motif for 208 Squadron, is also covered. Its modern-day role as an advanced flying training squadron concludes the Squadron’s story. It was written with the use of important sources from the Squadron’s archives, along with interviews from veterans and current members of the Squadron.
After a brief introduction by the Station Commander, who acknowledged the Squadron’s illustrious history, the President took the stage in order to thank Graham for his outstanding work, not only in preparing the ultimate history of Naval 8 / 208 Squadron, but also in making the unfeasibly tight deadline. Mr John Davies, the Director of Grub Street Publishing, also added his praise for Graham as an accomplished author and historian. To mark the Centenary event, John had also arranged for a generous discount for those who purchased the book on the day. Many of those attending took advantage of that discount and most of the stock
