The Royal Air Force Association was set up as a charity to support members of the RAF past and present in 1943. By the end of the war its range of services to ex-airmen was extensive and on leaving the service on demob airmen were given a leaflet outlining what help the charity could provide:

Alongside this information leaflet, a (very thin) piece of paper provided details on how to join and the price of membership:

Today RAFA has 504 branches in the UK, with a total membership of approximately 79,000 in the UK and abroad. Their website states:

They were there for us in our darkest days. We must not fail them in theirs. For over 90 years, the RAF Association has championed a simple belief – that no member of the RAF community should ever be left without the help that they need.

Not since WWII has the RAF been so constantly deployed on global operations – and across the generations, the need for support is becoming ever more complex. Demand for our services is therefore increasing significantly. For the sake of everyone who needs our help, we must continue to evolve and innovate to meet these new challenges and remain at the leading edge of service provision. We must champion the best interests of the RAF community more strongly than ever before.

Only then can we be sure that every member of our RAF community is receiving the support they need and deserve.