RAF Central Band sheet music of 'RAF March Past'

The "Royal Air Force March Past" is the official

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) and is used in some other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

air forces. The original score was completed by

Walford Davies Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, du ...

in 1918 for the new RAF. It combined the rhythm of the bugle call of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

with that of the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

. The call appears in both the introduction and the

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

. It was originally known as the Adastral I (in reference to the RAF's motto). The second part of the march past, the trio, was composed by

Sir George Dyson Sir George Dyson (28 May 188328 September 1964) was an English musician and composer. After studying at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London, and army service in the First World War, he was a schoolmaster and college lecturer. In 1938 he b ...

. The march can be played both as a slow march and a quick march, and has been used as both when the Queen's Colour Squadron and RAF bands perform public duties such as mounting the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Canadian version

Authority was granted in February 1943 by His Majesty's Stationery Office to publish the "RAF March Past" piece in Canada under the title "RCAF March Past". It was the official march of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...

until the unification of the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

in 1968. It continued to be the authorized march of Air Command and the

Air Operations Branch The Air Operations Branch (french: links=no, Branche des opérations aériennes) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces (CF). All members of the branch wear air force uniform. Training Royal Canadian Air Force Academy The Royal Canadian Ai ...

of the Canadian Forces from 1968-2011. In 2011 Air Command reverted its name to

and the RCAF March Past continues as the official march of the RCAF. It is also the official march of the

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

and the Air Force Association of Canada. A pipe band arrangement was composed in the 1950s by

Pipe Major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

Alex Howie Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

of the

CFB Trenton Canadian Forces Base Trenton (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hu ...

Pipe Band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

, and a trio for pipes was composed in 1970 by Pipe Major

Archie Cairns Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathemati ...

Lyrics

The following are the lyrics to be sung to the Trio section of the march (composed by George Dyson). It references the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mo ...

of the RAF, ''" Per Ardua Ad Astra"'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

, "Through adversity to the stars"). :RAF March Past :Through adversities we'll conquer. :Blaze into the stars, :A trail of glory :We'll live on land and sea :'Til victory is won. :Men in blue skies are winging :In each heart one thought is ringing. :Fight for the right, :God is our might, :We shall be free.

Audio samples

Audio of the RAF March Past

RCAF March Past on Youtube

References

{{reflist *Tracy, Robert. "Our Symbols - A Historical Link With Our Air Force Roots". ''Air Force Magazine''. Vol. 22, No. 3. 1998. ISSN 0704-6804. pp. 94–96. * Air Force Association of Canada. ''Air Force on the March!'' CD liner notes. British military marches Royal Air Force March Past Royal Air Force music 1918 compositions Songs about aviators