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207 SQUADRON ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORYLAYING UP THE ORIGINAL 207 SQUADRON STANDARD
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Leicester Cathedral, Leicester,
England
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 source: Beaver (to see the 207 Standard in full, please click on the picture) |
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The Provost welcomes the Congregation and leads
THE BIDDING
On this day, you have assembled in this Cathedral, to commemorate loyal and fearless service, given by your Squadron to our Sovereign and fellow countrymen, to commemorate it with thanksgiving before God. It is right that on this day, you should pay tribute to the memory of those who have given their lives to just and noble causes; for you have come as well to lay up your Squadron Standard. No more fitting place could be found wherein to deposit this emblem of Duty and Service than in this Cathedral of the City which adopted 207 Squadron as its own.
So let us now praise God: and in his presence seek inspiration to dedicate ourselves anew to his service.
Provost: Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
Answer: But unto thy name give the praise
Provost: The Lord hath done great things for us already;
Answer: Whereof we rejoice.
Provost: Praise the Lord O my soul;
Answer: And forget not all his benefits.
THE LESSON
Ecclesiasticus 44 v. 1 - 15
Read By
Squadron Leader I J Hampton RAF
HYMN
O WORSHIP the king all glorius above;
O gratefully sing his power and his love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendour and girded with praise.
O tell of his might, O sing of his grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space;
His chariots of wrath the deep thunder clouds form,
And dark is his path on the wings of the storm.
Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distils in the dew and the rain.
O measureless Might, ineffable Love,
While angels delight to hymn thee above,
Thy ransomed creation, though feeble their lays,
with true adoration shall sing to thy praise.
Sir R Grant
Based on W. Kethe (1561)
THE ADDRESS
The Reverend A A B Jones RAF
THE LAYING UP OF THE STANDARD
At the conclusion of the address, the congregation is asked to stand while the Standard Party moves to the Communion Rail. The Standard is received by the Officer Commanding No.207 Squadron who in turn will deliver it to the Provost.
Provost: It is an ancient and laudable custom
to lay up in the house of God the consecrated emblems of
man's duty and service, there to remain for all time as a
reminder of a duty well done and of the strength that God
supplies.
Officer Commanding: Very Reverend Sir, I ask you to receive
this Standard of No.207 Squadron of the Royal Air Force for
safe lodging in the House of God until such time as it shall
pass to dust like those whose courage and devotion are
enshrined in its history.
Provost: We receive this standard into safe keeping at God's
House, here to hang for all time as a reminder to those who
pass by of man's duty to God, to his Sovereign and to his
country.
The Provost having placed the Standard on the high Altar will say this prayer:
Almighty God and Lord of Hosts, we now lay up these emblems of courage and steadfastness. May all who look upon them be reminded of their duty to God, their Queen and their Country, for Jesus Christ's sake, Amen.
The Last Post shall be sounded.
Sqn Ldr Ian Hampton, OC 207 Squadron, receives the Standard
from Flt Lt Norman Enston
source: Hampton
The Provost of Leicester, The Very Revd AC Warren MA,
receives the
Standard from Sqn Ldr Ian Hampton, OC 207 Squadron
source: Hampton
HYMN
I VOW to thee, my country, all earthly
things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love:
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the
test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And there's another country, I've heard of
long ago,
Most dear of them that love her, most great to them that
know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are
peace.
Sir Cecil Spring-Rice
The Trumpeter shall then sound the Reveille
THE CONCLUSION
Provost: Be thou faithful unto death;
Answer: And I will give thee a crown of life.
Provost: Let us pray:
Grant we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we who recall the steadfastness of those belonging to 207 Squadron who have gone before, may ever be found faithful to thee in all things, and may with them receive the Crown of Everlasting Life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Let us pray for those who suffer:
O God who has promised that they who wait upon thee shall renew their strength, we commend unto thee all who suffer through war and strife, the wounded, the sick, the homeless, the hungry, and the oppressed; the anxious, the frightened and the bereaved. Strengthen them, O Lord, with Thy Holy Spirit and give them friends to help them in their need. We ask it in his name, Thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Let us pray for the Royal Air Force:
Almighty God whose love enfolds us both in life and death, we pray for all members of the Royal Air Force, that thou wouldst keep them always loyal in Thy service. In danger make them calm, in conflict bold, in reverse undaunted, in victory free from pride. Give to the whole world peace and goodwill; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Provost: Blessed be the name of the Lord;
Answer: From this time forth and ever more.
Provost: Our help is in the name of the Lord;
Answer: Who hath made heaven and earth.
Provost: Finally let us join our prayers and praises in the
words our Lord has taught us, saying:
Answer: Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name.....
HYMN
For all the Saints who from their labours
rest,
Who thee by faith before the world confest,
Thy name, O Jesu, be for ever blest,
Alleluya!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and
their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou in the darkness drear their one true Light.
Alleluya!
O May thy soldiers, faithful, true and
bold,
Fight as the Saints who nobly fought of old,
and win, with them, the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluya!
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare
long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph-song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluya!
The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest:
Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest.
Alleluya!
From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's
farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Alleluya!
Bishop W W How, 1823 - 97
The first verse of
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
THE BLESSING
The Congregation remains seated until asked to move by the Ushers. Retiring Collection. To be donated to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
The Old Standard in December 2004
 Old Standard in the cluster in the South aisle, above the 207 Roll of Honour display cabinet |
 Old Standard, side view. These three images: Haslam Dec 2004 |
 Old Standard, front view |
A Roll of Honour Memorial Book was deposited and dedicated in the Cathedral on Sunday 5th November 1989 and was updated in 2001. Please click here for the Order of Service for that occasion.
page last updated 27 Dec 2004: 3 Jan 14