Stamp_&_Coin_Mart_2016_02_

48 FEBRUARY 2016

Around the islands

ersey Post marks the 75th

anniversary of the RAF’s

Search and Rescue service,

founded in the wake of the

Battle of Britain

With its stirring motto ‘The sea

shall not have them’, the Royal Air

Force’s Search and Rescue service

was set up in 1940 following

The Battle of Britain, when the

country fought for supremacy

over Britain’s skies. During those

critical months in the summer

of 1940, it became evident that

a better equipped and dedicated

service was needed for the recovery

of airmen who had ditched or

parachuted into the water; the

recovery and return of these

airmen to their squadrons would

be critical to the RAF maintaining

an effective force.

Jersey Post’s six stamps, designed

by Sharif Tarabay, feature colourful

depictions of rescues at sea, from a

pilot waiting to be picked up by a

sea plane, to a modern-day rescue

by a Sea King helicopter.

Before Search and Rescue was

launched, the responsibility for the

search for downed pilots fell to an

already overworked RAF Coastal

Command. Aircraft searched and

reported positions to enable the

pilots to be picked up by surface

vessels, but more often than not, an

airman’s chance of survival relied

on being picked up by a passing

naval vessel or fishing boat.

The Air Ministry formed

the Directorate of Air-Sea

Rescue to coordinate rescue

efforts. Officially founded in

February 1941, one of the first

dedicated squadrons of the

new Air Sea Rescue Service

was 227 Squadron which used

amongst other aircraft, Westland

Lysanders carrying inflatable

dinghies, food, water and distress

signals. Later, specially adapted

Lockheed Hudson and Vickers

Warwick aircraft carried lifeboats,

particularly important due to the

number of bomber crews from

stricken aircraft ditching in the

sea whilst returning from raids

over Europe.

The airborne component of

the service was complemented by

specially designed surface vessels,

such as the 100-Class High Speed

Launch. Flying boats such as the

Supermarine Walrus could both

search and recover and had the

advantage of a greater range.

In the post-war years that

followed, both the use of high

speed launches and fixed-wing

aircraft were phased out due

to the development of the

helicopter, which had the ability

to locate, hover and recover

from the sea with a winch, and

deliver the rescued directly to

hospital if required. Featuring the

distinctive yellow livery, Westland

Whirlwind helicopters operated

in both military and civilian

rescue roles until being succeeded

by the larger Westland Wessex,

a more powerful aircraft able to

carry more people, equipment

and operate effectively at night.

From 1978, the service began to

use the versatile Westland Sea King

helicopter. Operating around the

UK, Cyprus (operating the Bell

Griffin HAR2) and the Falkland

Islands, the fleet of helicopters

carried sophisticated infra-red

and video detection equipment.

The service received widespread

attention in 2010 when the Duke

of Cambridge was assigned to C

Flight, 22 Squadron in Anglesey as a

search and rescue pilot, flying a Sea

King on land and sea rescues, just

as his colleagues have done over the

decades in both war and peacetime.

JERSEY

RAF Search and Rescue

Stamp details

Issue date: 6 February 2016

Design: Sharif Tarabay

Printer: Lowe-Martin,

offset lithography

Stamp die size:

30mm x 40mm

Souvenir sheetlet size:

98mm x 138mm

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