Medals Post War 02

In the years following the war the squadron participated in many trouble spots around the Middle East and a selection of the campaign medals awarded are shown here

In January 1991, when the Squadron was on a joint-service exercise with the Royal Navy out of St Mawgan in Cornwall, Number 208 was re-called to Lossiemouth and ordered to detach six Buccaneers to Muharraq in Bahrain, to support the RAF units already involved in Operation Granby, the mission against Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Wing Commander Bill Cope was the Officer Commanding the detachment and when asked why the Buccaneers had been detached to the Gulf, when there were already Tornadoes in that location, he answered: “The Buccaneer is like my grandmother – old but formidable!”. The proof of that statement came when 208 was tasked with 108 sorties, all of which were successful. All Squadron personnel were awarded the Gulf War Medal, as well as the Saudi and Kuwaiti medals for that campaign. Wg Cdr Cope was also awarded the Order of Bahrain for his part in the action.