On a recent visit to the Grade II listed RAF Club at 128 Piccadilly I was at first intrigued by a pair of narrow vertical windows either side of the door. Here's one of them viewed from inside the reception area – it's slathered in layers of paint and, as such, no longer functional.
Viewed from the street, these little windows are very hard to notice being as they are hidden behind the pillars that flank the late Victorian doorway. My hunch is that they were used for communication and delivery of letters etc when the heavy main door was closed and would have provided a level of security, especially at night. Any other suggestions and explanations are most welcome.
In January 1922 the building opened its doors to RAF Club members. Here's one of the elegant cartouches on the staircase:
Squadron badges are displayed within frames around the walls of the rooms and corridors. Each squadron has a different pictoral motif and motto with more than a third depicted in Latin.
I mused what happened when a new squadron was created. A meeting would likely be arranged to decide on the company identity, so to speak. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall listening to them coming up with snappy ideas only to find that another squadron had got there first.
The tone and sentiment of these mottos varies greatly. Some are attacking, others are caring. Some squadrons sound reliable, others leave no prisoners. Many of them could be movie titles or power ballads by Celine or Whitney, or advertising slogans for household products or alcoholic beverages like vermouth.
As regards who these mottos are aimed at, most are generic, some describe the actions of many as in we/our/us, but there are also a handful that are in the first person as in, I will do this/that.
Here's a list, in no particular order, of the some of the mottos shown in English. Please excuse a random use of initial caps instead of ALL CAPS as depicted in the frames.
Do Right Fear Naught
I Will Defend the Right
Foremost in Attack
Strong to Serve
Danger is our Opportunity
Swift to Strike
Endurance
Surely and Quickly
Silently We Serve
Steadfast in Support
Tally Ho
With Speed I Strike
Despite The Elements
We Fight To Rebuild
Strike Hard
Never Failing
Beware Beware
We Avenge
Watching Ever Faithful
Direct To Kill
Ready To Move
Achieve Your Aim
Avenge
Strike Hard Strike Sure
Confound and Destroy
We Guide To Strike
This Arm Shall Do It
To Hold On High
Friendship
Fangs of Death
Going Down
On Wings Of Fire
We Kill By Night
Supporting Liberty and Justice
Let Us To The Battle
First From The Eyries
We Learn By Teaching
Panache and Precision
Even Better
Knowledge Sustains
Learn and Lead
Knowledge Dispels Fear
Strike Hard and Strike Fast
Ready
Anywhere Any Time
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please note that comments are vetted by me personally to check for relevant content before they are published, so don't panic when your feedback isn't immediately visible.
If you write anything perceived to be an ad, spam or self promotion, your comment will be deleted and/or marked as spam/blocked.
Thanks, Jane