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Navy, Army And Air Force Institutes
The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs clubhouses, bars, shops, supermarkets, launderettes, restaurants, cafés and other facilities on most British military bases and also canteens on board Royal Navy ships. Commissioned officers are not usually supposed to use the NAAFI clubs and bars, since their messes provide these facilities and their entry, except on official business, is considered to be an intrusion into junior ranks' private lives. NAAFI personnel serving aboard ship are part of the Naval Canteen Service (NCS), wear naval uniform and have action stations, but remain ordinary civilians. NAAFI personnel can also join the Expeditionary Force Institutes (EFI), which provides NAAFI facilities in war zones. EFI personnel are members of the Army Reserve serving on specia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allies of World War I, Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has played History of the Royal Air Force, a significant role in Military history of the United Kingdom, British military history. In particular, during the Second World War, the RAF established Air supremacy, air superiority over Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, and led the Allied strategic bombing effort. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities nee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Leake (DSM)
John Steven Leake (26 October 1949 – 13 February 2000) was an English recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal whilst working for the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI), one of only twelve to be issued to the British forces during the Falklands War. Prior to working for the NAAFI, he worked in private security and was a soldier in the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment of the British Army. Early life Born in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham, England, Leake attended Albert Road School in Aston. Leake joined the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, serving with the 1st Battalion of the Regiment in Northern Ireland. As one of his roles, he was an instructor in the use of the General-purpose machine gun. At the age of 24, he left the British Army to work for private security companies, including for Securicor at Birmingham Airport. He was working for locally based IMI plc, when he decided to join the West Midlands Police, but after arriving early for his interview he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's Royal Army Corps
The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC; sometimes pronounced acronymically as , a term unpopular with its members) was the corps to which all women in the British Army belonged from 1949 to 1992 except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains, who belonged to the same corps as the men; the Ulster Defence Regiment, which recruited women from 1973, and nurses, who belonged to Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. History The WRAC was formed on 1 February 1949, by Army Order 6, as the successor to the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) that had been founded in 1938. For much of its existence, its members performed administrative and other support tasks. In March 1952 the ranks of the WRAC, which had previously been Subaltern, Junior Commander, Senior Commander and Controller were harmonised with the rest of the British Army. In 1974, two soldiers of the corps were killed by the Provisional IRA in the Guildford pub bombings. In October 1990 WRAC officers employed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auxiliary Territorial Service
The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 February 1949, when it was merged into the Women's Royal Army Corps. The ATS had its roots in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (Britain), Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), which was formed in 1917 as a voluntary service. During the World War I, First World War its members served in a number of jobs including clerks, cooks, telephonists and waitresses. The WAAC was disbanded after four years in 1921. Prior to the Second World War, the government decided to establish a new Corps for women, and an advisory council, which included members of the Territorial Army (United Kingdom), Territorial Army (TA), a section of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, Women's Transport Service (FANY) and the Women's Legion, was set up. The council dec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engineers Postal and Courier Service * Royal Corps of Transport * Royal Army Ordnance Corps * Royal Pioneer Corps * Army Catering Corps The RLC comprises both Regular and Army Reserve units. The RLC is the only combat service support corps of the British Army with battle honours, derived from the usage of previous transport elements of the Royal Waggon Train, and their successors as cavalry. The battle honours are: * Peninsula * Battle of Waterloo * Lucknow * Taku Forts * Peking Cap badge The RLC cap badge is an amalgamation of the cap badges of the forming corps: * The laurel and garter band is from the Royal Engineers * The Indian star is from the Royal Corps of Transport * The shield in the centre is from the Royal Army Ordnanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equipment, ammunition and clothing and certain minor functions such as laundry, mobile baths and photography. The RAOC was also responsible for a major element of the repair of Army equipment. In 1942 the latter function was transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and the vehicle storage and spares responsibilities of the Royal Army Service Corps were in turn passed over to the RAOC. The RAOC retained repair responsibilities for ammunition, clothing and certain ranges of general stores. In 1964 the McLeod Reorganisation of Army Logistics resulted in the RAOC absorbing petroleum, rations and accommodation stores functions from the Royal Army Service Corps as well as the Army Fire Service, barrack services, sponsors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of France
The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and French Third Republic, France. The plan for the invasion of the Low Countries and France was called (Case Yellow or the Manstein plan). (Case Red) was planned to finish off the French and British after the Dunkirk evacuation, evacuation at Dunkirk. The Low Countries and France were defeated and occupied by Axis troops down to the Demarcation line (France), Demarcation line. On 3 September 1939, French declaration of war on Germany (1939), France and United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939), Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, over the German invasion of Poland on 1 September. In early September 1939, the French army began the limited Saar Offensive but by mid-October had withdrawn to the start line ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entertainments National Service Association
The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes. In 1946 it was re-named to Combined Services Entertainment (CSE) operating under the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), until 2 March 2020, when the SSVC re-branded to the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), with the CSE likewise re-branding as BFBS Live Events. The first big wartime variety concert organised by ENSA was broadcast by the BBC to the Empire and local networks from RAF Hendon in north London on 17 October 1939. Among the entertainers appearing on the bill were Adelaide Hall, The Western Brothers and Mantovani. A newsreel of this concert showing Hall singing " We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line" accompanied by Mantovani and His Orchestra exists. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancelot Royle
Captain Sir Lancelot Carrington Royle, (31 May 1898 – 19 June 1978) was a British Olympian and businessman. Royle was an Olympic athlete (Paris 1924) and chairman and CEO of Allied Suppliers Ltd., Home and Colonial Stores Ltd., Lipton Ltd., NAAFI and one of Britain's leading 20th century retail businessmen. Education Lancelot Royle was the son of the Rev. Vernon Royle, the famous test cricketer, and grew up at Stanmore Park, north of London. He was educated at Harrow School and RMA Woolwich. Early career Royle left Harrow in 1916 and was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery and shipped out to France to fight in the First World War. He was to remain in the European theatre until the Armistice in 1918. At the end of the war, Royle remained in the army, and was encouraged to develop his sporting prowess. He was a highly talented sprinter, competing regularly with the likes of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell for honours. He was British Army sprint Champion in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
