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WELCOME TO
THE NORTH WALL
The exhibition also highlights the vital
roles played by women, from their significant
contribution to the espionage activities of
the Special Operations Executive in WWII
right up to modern-day developments,
where women are eligible to apply for
ground close combat roles for the first time.
We hope this unique collection
provides a new perspective for people to
reflect both on the history of the RAF in
general and the very particular role played by
the young pilots who spent their formative
years at St Edward’s School.
Ria Parry and John Hoggarth
Co-Directors of The North Wall
We are delighted to be hosting
The
Dambusters and Beyond,
a joint venture
between The North Wall and our principal
sponsor, St Edward’s School.
As the RAF celebrates its 100th
anniversary year, we are excited to
share a very special collection of archive
photography, military artefacts, and largely
unseen private papers and diaries. We
hope it provides some new insights into the
exploits and ingenuity of these remarkable
individuals, including many among them who
are former pupils of St Edward’s. With such
a strong connection to the School, it seems
fitting to draw these exhibits together here at
The North Wall and, perhaps, inspire a new
generation to investigate and comprehend
their extraordinary story.
THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
AND ST EDWARD’S:
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION
On 1st April 1918, against the backdrop
of the Great War, the newly founded
Royal Air Force emerged as the first
independent air force in the world. This
year, we celebrate its centenary. It is
worth considering what exactly we are
celebrating about the RAF. Perhaps, what
we are truly celebrating is not simply
the century that has passed since its
founding, but rather the century that has
passed in which the founding principles
of the RAF have held strong. It was upon
this bedrock of values that the RAF was
built, and which has since allowed the RAF
to be at the tip of Britain’s military might
from WWII and the Falklands, to current
engagements in Iraq and Syria.
However, the founding values of the
RAF were already well established before
it was officially formed. It was Britain’s
pilots in WWI (at the time part of the
Royal Flying Corps (RFC)) who laid the
foundation for what would become the
RAF. Engaging in the first aerial combat in
history, these men had shown themselves
to be courageous and trailblazing, and
as the very first pilots of the RAF, they
defined the traits which would come to
epitomise the RAF pilot. As we look back
on the century that has passed, there is
one legacy of the RAF I find particularly
worthy of celebration: the RAF pilots
from St Edward’s.
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By Basil Zirinis, Lower Sixth Historian
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