Thales represented at the RAF100 event in Saint-Omer

On 20 September, as one of the last official Royal Air Force 100 (RAF100) events, a Thales delegation from France and the UK (Alex Cresswell, Hervé Rameau, David Beatty, and Malcolm Crayford) joined the citizens of Saint-Omer, the Secretary of State to the Minister of the French Armed Forces, Air Marshal Stuart Evans (NATO Deputy Commander Allied Air Command), French and UK dignitaries and serving RAF personnel to commemorate and celebrate the rich history between Saint-Omer and the RAF. 
 

On 8 October 1914, the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) arrived in Saint-Omer and a headquarters was established at the aerodrome next to the local race course. For the following four years, Saint-Omer was a focal point for all RFC operations in France. In late 1917, General Hugh Trenchard, serving as commander of the RFC in France, was based at Saint-Omer and it was at Saint-Omer that some of Trenchard’s ideas for the organisation and leadership of the shortly-to-be-created RAF of April 1918 were formed.  A number of RAF squadrons can trace their formation roots to Saint-Omer and four of the RAF’s current squadronsare listed on the Armed/Air Services Memorial at the Aerodrome. 
 
The event was also attended by retired RAF personnel, RAF Air Cadets and members of the broader RAF family including RAF100 charities and industry partners. Air Commodore Malcolm Crayford laid a wreath, on behalf of Thales, at the Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Longuenesse (Saint-Omer) Souvenir Cemetery and at a ceremony at the Aerodrome.

Find out about our legacy of close cooperation with the RAF here.