MOD civilians and military colleagues recently hosted a family day at Cotswold Airport, their 3rd such annual event raising £14,000 for service related charities.
With the support of Cotswold Airport, local businesses, Gloucestershire police and voluntary groups, roughly 1000 enjoyed a day which offered something for probably just about everyone. Flypast and static displays of classic / vintage aircraft, vintage and super-cars, demonstrations by Glospol armed response and traffic, classic music, historical re-enactment by Gloucester Community Networking, and history displays included genuine artefacts from Stalag Luft III Prison Camp (The Great Escape) and from the MI9 the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Dowty aerospace technologies and award winning Cotswold Ales.
The formalities of cheque presentations were conducted Monday 2nd October at GCHQ Cheltenham with two presentations of £7,000 each to representatives from Soldiers Sailors Airman Family Association SSAFA https://www.ssafa.org.uk/gloucestershire and Combat Stress https://combatstress.org.uk
One of the cheques presented (photo in Image link) was by the GCHQ historian Dr Dave Abrutat to Sir Francis Richards; former Director GCHQ and Commander in Chief Governor of Gibraltar, now president of the SSAFA Gloucestershire branch. Apart from the obvious connection to Sir Francis, it was fitting that GCHQ was chosen as they proudly work to support the military. Particularly in the last 30 years, wherever and whenever British forces have deployed GCHQ has increasingly supported through the forward deployment of its own staff.
The MOD and fundraisers would like to go on record to express their gratitude to Cotswold Airport and staff for their support and generosity over the years, to enable the raising of many thousands of pounds and deliver a great day for all.