No. 674 Squadron AAC
Encyclopedia
674 Squadron is a unit of the British Army Air Corps. It conducts elementary flying training for British Army pilots and occasionally for overseas military pilots.
necessitated restructuring into two separate squadrons. 674 Squadron was selected because it was the next available unused number.
A formation parade and ceremony was held at RAF Barkston Heath
on 11 July 2003, the first Officer Commanding being Major A M Mills AAC. The squadron was inaugurated by Major General Richard Gerrard-Wright CB CBE DL on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Force
(CDF), General Sir Mike Walker. The CDF
granted the squadron its own march, 'The Lincolnshire Poacher
'.
which bore the same motto.
The squadron crest bears the Sphynx of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, chosen because of the squadron's initial location at Barkston Heath
in Lincolnshire and the close association of the Chief of the Defence Staff with the Army Air Corps (he was the Regimental Colonel) and the Royal Anglian Regiment
, the successor to the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment.
Formation
The number 674 was one of several allocated to the RAF AOP Squadrons during the second world war, however no squadron was commissioned before the numbers were transferred to the Army Air Corps in 1957. The number remained unused until the emergence of a distinct army and navy presence at the Defence Elementary Flying Training SchoolRAF Barkston Heath
RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire.RAF Barkston Heath is the home of the Defence Elementary Flying Training School which, for a period between approximately 1995-2010 operated the Slingsby T67M260 Firefly two seat trainer. The school now operates the Grob...
necessitated restructuring into two separate squadrons. 674 Squadron was selected because it was the next available unused number.
A formation parade and ceremony was held at RAF Barkston Heath
RAF Barkston Heath
RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire.RAF Barkston Heath is the home of the Defence Elementary Flying Training School which, for a period between approximately 1995-2010 operated the Slingsby T67M260 Firefly two seat trainer. The school now operates the Grob...
on 11 July 2003, the first Officer Commanding being Major A M Mills AAC. The squadron was inaugurated by Major General Richard Gerrard-Wright CB CBE DL on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Force
Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the British Armed Forces, a senior official within the Ministry of Defence, and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister...
(CDF), General Sir Mike Walker. The CDF
Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the British Armed Forces, a senior official within the Ministry of Defence, and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister...
granted the squadron its own march, 'The Lincolnshire Poacher
The Lincolnshire Poacher
"The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song.The Lincolnshire Poacher can also refer to:*Lincolnshire Poacher , a numbers station*Lincolnshire Poacher , a type of cheese...
'.
Heraldry
The squadron motto 'Nothing Is Impossible' was selected by the Regimental Committee of the Army Air Corps in order to perpetuate the memory of the Glider Pilot RegimentGlider Pilot Regiment
The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European Theatre of World War II in support of Allied airborne operations...
which bore the same motto.
The squadron crest bears the Sphynx of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, chosen because of the squadron's initial location at Barkston Heath
RAF Barkston Heath
RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire.RAF Barkston Heath is the home of the Defence Elementary Flying Training School which, for a period between approximately 1995-2010 operated the Slingsby T67M260 Firefly two seat trainer. The school now operates the Grob...
in Lincolnshire and the close association of the Chief of the Defence Staff with the Army Air Corps (he was the Regimental Colonel) and the Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
, the successor to the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment.