Memorial unveiling participation

I refer to the letter by Joseph Galea (October 22).

It appears my previous letter may have been misunderstood. At no time did I mention the programme for the unveiling of the Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial. I referred to official documents. To continue insisting that the 1954 unveiling ceremony was "wholly an RAF function" is a blatant distortion of historical fact and an insult to those Commonwealth airmen who participated in this event.

While the ceremony was indeed organised by the Royal Air Force (RAF), a fact which I have never contested, official documents record the participation of various other air forces of the Commonwealth - as mentioned in my letter.

These air forces are the heritage of their respective nations with their own independent identity. That is why there are institutions such as the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), etc.

These cannot, and should not, fall under the common abbreviation of "RAF" - which would be incorrect and misleading. The abbreviation "RAF" is the sole independent identity of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. This clarification was the reason for my original contribution.

The second paragraph of the correspondent's letter is somewhat confusing as it is not clear. All I will state, in order to avoid any possible misconceptions by readers, is that No. 73 Squadron, RAF did not at any time form part of No. 78 (Fighter) Wing, RAAF. This last unit was entirely composed of Australian squadrons throughout its deployment to Malta. However, having said this, it should also be mentioned that a number of individual RAF personnel and Air Ministry Directorate of Works personnel (a civilian branch of the RAF) were deployed to Ta' Qali after the Wing had taken over administration of this airfield.