Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Fleet Air Arm Memorial Church Trust will take place in the church at 2:00pm on Wednesday 12 November 2025,

Monday 15 September 2025 is the 85th Battle of Britain Day when the nation pays tribute to  those who stood against the German Luftwaffe from 10 July - 31 October 1940.
The 112 day fight for control of Britain’s skies was the first decisive battle in history fought entirely in the air, and one which proved to be a dramatic turning point in WWII. 

Often unacknowledged are the 57 naval aviators who participated in the battle as part of the Royal Air Force's Fighter Command. Some pilots served alongside their Royal Air Force colleagues, flying Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires. The remaining aircrew, including three Royal Marine officers and five Petty Officers, flew with either 804 or 808 Naval Air Squadrons providing  dockyard defence. 
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Nine young Fleet Air Arm men lost their lives with Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. 

Although the Americans would claim it was the Hellcats from US Navy squadron VF-88 that engaged in the last dogfight of WWII, the British say it was Seafires from the 24th Naval Fighter Wing which took that particular prize.  In truth, both groups of fighters encountered Japanese Zeros and Raidens on the morning of 15 August 1945 over Tokyo Bay.
 At 04:15 local time, flying from approximate position 34° N 142° E, Task Force 38 commenced
launching mainland Japan air strikes at targets in the Tokyo area. HMS INDEFATIGABLE launched a force of four Fireflies and six Avengers, escorted by eight Seafires (from 887 and 894 Naval Air Squadrons) for the first strike but found the target, Kisarazu airfield, obscured by bad weather. An alternative target, a camouflaged factory at Odaki Bay, was sighted and bombed.
At 05:40 the Indefatigable Strike Force was intercepted by a dozen enemy aircraft: four Mitsubishi J2M3 ‘Raiden’ and eight A6M ‘Zeke’ fighters which were engaged by the Seafires; four were  shot down, four more believed shot down and the remainder damaged and driven off.
 At 05:45 Sub Lieutenant V Lowden RNVR in Seafire Serial No. LR866 led a flight of three 887 Naval Air Squadron aircraft to attack 4 A6M over Odaki Bay, two were shot down in flames, one being shared with Sub Lieutenant W Williams RNVR and another seen to go down smoking, the pilot baled out.
Sub Lieutenant L Murphy RNVR in Seafire Serial No. NN212 shot one down with smoke and flames from its engine and a second went down in flames and rolled over on back. Sub Lieutenant D Duncan RNVR (894 Naval Air Squadron) in Seafire Serial No. PR206 attacked two, one went down burning almost vertically and another was probably destroyed; Sub Lieutenant R Kay RNVR (894 Naval Air Squadron) in Seafire Serial No. NN584 shot the tail off one A6M and damaged another; on returning to the ship he burst a tyre on landing and his aircraft tipped on its nose.
Sub Lieutenant R Gorvin RNVR (894 Naval Air Squadron) in Seafire Serial No. PR263 suffered damage from the encounter with the A6Ms over Odaki Bay but managed to land safely. Sub Lieutenant F Hockley RNVR (894 Naval Air Squadron) was hit by flak over Tokyo, he baled out and landed on Chiba Peninsula, east of Tokyo where he was captured.
 
Temporary Sub Lieutenant(A) Fred Hockley RNVR 
At approximately nine o'clock that night, nine hours after Emperor Hirohito had announced the Japanese surrender, Fred Hockley (aged 22) was taken to a grave blindfolded, where he was executed by three Imperial Army officers. However, he was later exhumed and cremated for fear that his body might be found.
Fred Hockley's fate was only revealed when Allied Occupation forces investigated his VJ Day disappearance. Two of the Japanese officers were convicted of war crimes, sentenced to death and hanged on 16 September 1947 while the other officer was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
Sub Lieutenant Hockley’s ashes are now interred in Yokohama War Cemetery, Japan - British Section.
Sub Lieutenant (A) John Francis Joseph Andrew Bonass RNVR
One of the 820 Naval Air Squadron Avengers on the strike was also badly damaged; Serial No. JZ482 was attacked by 4 A6Ms diving out of sun, suffering rear fuselage and tail damage. Petty Officer Air Gunner A Simpson shot one down smoking with flames under its engine. The Observer, Sub Lieutenant J Bonass RNVR (aged 22) was wounded and baled out into the sea off Tokyo but died almost immediately. The aircraft eventually ditched but the pilot, Sub Lieutenant L Baldwin RNVR, and Petty Officer Simpson were rescued safely.

​                                     This was the last British air combat of WWII.

We are hosting a coffee morning in the church 1000-1200 on Wednesday 23 April 2025. 

Please come along to support us, use it as an opportunity to catch up with friends and perhaps even make some new ones!

Relax and enjoy some refreshments in the beautiful and historic setting of the church.

​Adults and children of all ages welcome!
 
Any donations received will go to the HMS HERON Central Amenities Fund who provide financial help for
individual or group projects for air station personnel to improve their morale and well being. 

The family of the late Captain Anthony Wigley Royal Navy visited the air station and Fleet Air Arm Memorial Church on Tuesday 21 January 2025. Captain Wigley (44), Commanding Officer of HMS OSPREY, lost his life in December 1984 when the 771 Squadron Portland  based Wessex HU 5 he was piloting crashed shortly after take off.
Family members, many of them for the first time, were able to view Captain Wigley’s entry in the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour at the church and also had the opportunity for a period of personal reflection.
Captain Wigley is laid to rest in Leigh Parish Church, Sherborne, Dorset.                         
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A poignant commemoration took place yesterday morning to pay tribute to all those who have died in the pursuit of freedom and peace. As the spiritual home of the Fleet Air Arm we were particularly honoured by the presence of many bereaved family members who came to remember their loved ones who had died in service, some of whom were laid to rest with us.  
Whilst the majority of the service took place inside the church, the Act of Remembrance was conducted at the Wayfair Cross in the Royal Naval Cemetery. 
The names on the Naval Service Roll of Honour for the past 12 months was read out before Last Post and the two minute silence.  After reveille was sounded Captain Duncan Thomas Royal Navy, Commanding Officer of Royal Naval Air Station, was the first to lay a wreath on behalf of the Ship's Company. 
Once back in the church prayers were said for the fallen, the nation and peace, these were followed by the singing of the Naval Hymn. Proceedings were completed with the playing of the National Anthem.

Thank you to Liz O'Brien who supplied the images. 

Ilchester Junior School pupils have had a busy week learning about the poppy and what it has come to symbolise for over a century.
Representatives from the school visited the Royal Naval Cemetery to place some of the beautiful poppies they had made. The children decided to position them around the  armillary base so that they can be seen during this year's Remembrance Sunday service and for the rest of November.  
Earlier in the day, they had also put poppies on 'Falklands Way' so that each Fleet Air Arm man who did not come home after the 1982 conflict had their own handmade flower. 
On Tuesday our Custodian had delivered a presentation focusing on just a few of the Royal Naval Air Service and Fleet Air Arm personnel killed in both World Wars, how they are commemorated and then talking about what remembrance meant to them personally. This prompted plenty of thoughtful and interesting questions from this large group of 90 young people.
Thank you Ilchester Junior School for your undivided attention and taking the time to remember those who died for our country so that we have the freedom to live as we do today. 
Well done!

In addition to contributing an average of £1,500 per annum to the Fleet Air Arm Memorial Church Trust, each year our Sunday congregation continue to help charities locally and further afield.
In the past 12 months, they have donated to the following organisations:
Royal British Legion (for remembrance)                                                      £160
Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity                                                  £1,000
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (Bicentenary)                                       £750 
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance                                                     £750
St Mary le Strand Restoration (Women’s Royal Naval Service church)               £500
Friends of St John, Somerset                                                                £500
Yeovil Christian Support Trust (Lord's Larder for Harvest Festival)                  £109