Latest news

Our book about IX Squadron from September 1939 to May 1945 has been published:

https://www.aviationbooks.org/

Please tell your friends, family and neighbours about the book.

It would make a super Xmas present!

With much regret, it has been announced that Association Member Margaret Caven passed away on 21 May 2023.

Margaret was a regular attendee at our Annual Reunions and will be sorely missed by all. Our thoughts go to her family and friends.

Wing Commander James ‘Jim’ Bazin, DSO, DFC

Written by Fenella and Michael Bazin.

Pages: 248
ISBN: 9781399066907
Published: 6th April 2023

From the publisher:

It was Tuesday, 17 October 1939. Britain had been at war with Germany for more than a month and for only the second time the Luftwaffe had dared to enter British airspace – and at last James ‘Jim’ Bazin’s chance had come.

After joining the RAF in 1935, Jim was an experienced pilot when war broke out and he was eager to test his skills against the enemy. This first combat was the start of a career which saw Wing Commander Bazin, as he was to become, being posted to France with 607 (County of Durham) Squadron. He fought there until the last days of the Battle of France. In the course of the campaign, Bazin had battled his way to becoming an ace. He was also shot down behind enemy lines, but successfully evaded capture to return to his squadron and resume the fight.

There was no respite for Bazin as he was once again in the air defending Britain’s skies in his trusty Hurricane as the Luftwaffe sort to destroy Fighter Command in the summer of 1940. With ten ‘kills’ to his name, Jim Bazin was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in October that year. But merely driving off the Luftwaffe was not enough for him. He was posted to Inverness where he served as a Controller in 14 Group’s Operations Room, which gave him a taste for offensive operations.

In time, Bazin volunteered to move to Bomber Command. He duly undertook a conversion course in 1943, eventually joining 49 Squadron as a Lancaster pilot to take the war to the very heart of the enemy.

After commanding 49 Squadron, including taking part in Bomber Command’s support of the D-Day landings, Bazin was promoted to Wing Commander, leading 9 Squadron on many attacks on special targets such as U-boat pens, viaducts, refineries and, most notably, operating with the famous Dambusters against Hitler’s great battleship Tirpitz.

Unrelenting in his efforts against the enemy, Jim Bazin was involved in operations against targets in Poland and Germany right up until the end of the war. This culminated in the last major RAF operation of the Second World War when, on 25 April 1945, Bomber Command attacked the Berghof, Hitler’s Alpine retreat, and other targets in Berchtesgaden. Jim Bazin was awarded the DSO in September 1945 – rightful recognition for a man who had done so much to bring about the defeat of the enemy.

The 2023 IX(B) Squadron Reunion will be held on 22-23 September, at RAF Lossiemouth.

More details will follow shortly, including travel options for members.

With much regret, it has been announced that our friend and Association Honorary Member John Fox died on Friday 29 April 2022, having been in Hospital for some weeks.

John was a brilliant Technical Illustrator, Graphic Designer, artist, photographer and more.

In 2017, John designed the amazing IX(B) Sqn memorial, seen above. His design notes are:

The monument’s 3 colours are as follows:

Polished brown granite derived from the Khaki of the RFC at the Squadron’s formation in Dec 1914.

Polished green granite derived from the bat on the Squadron’s Official Crest.

Sandstone derived from the Squadron’s history of operations in desert regions throughout its history.

The monument’s shapes are as follows:

The square footprint represents a IX(B) Squadron aircraft First World War reconnaissance camera plate.

The triangular shape represents the Geodetics used for navigation and the Wellington’s airframe.

The 4-sided pyramid represents the bomb sight of a Second World War IX(B) Squadron Lancaster.

The monument’s design angle is the travel sweep of the Tornado wing.

The monument’s orientation is as follows:

The Second World War panel is North facing, so not directly lit by the sun, to rep Second World War night operations.

The main Dedication panel is South facing and lit by the sun throughout during the day, to represent IX(B) Squadron’s achievements throughout its unparalleled history.

The First World War panel is West facing and lit by the setting sun, to represent western front operations.

The final panel is East facing and lit by the rising sun, to represent operations in the Middle East.

Below are some more of John’s work. Originals and prints are still available.

If you are interested in purchasing any, please contact association.historian@9sqn.co.uk

John’s brilliant “OP ELLAMY” painting of a Typhoon and Tornado. Signed and unsigned prints still available.

It was John’s idea to depict the Lancaster, Canberra, Vulcan, Tornado and Typhoon in plan form for Reunion table runners and booklets.

John’s recent drawing of a Johnny Walker mine, as used in OP Paravane.

John was a master at telling a story in graphics. He positioned the crests of IX(B) Sqn and 617 Sqn, straddling a Tallboy bomb facing the Tirpitz crest.

John Fox’s painting of a Tornado GR4 loaded with two Stormshadow missiles.

John’s depiction of a Lancaster crossing the coast line.

He was a stalwart of the association reunions, and fiercely loyal to IX(B) Squadron. He was a friend to many and we will miss him dearly. 

Association members,

The annual Bardney Remembrance service on 14^th Nov is looming, if anyone is interested in attending the service and the lunch afterwards, please see the attached document for all the details and reply to the Chairman by COP Friday 5th Nov.

Also, if you’ve moved house or changed email address in the last 12-18 months, please let me know so we can update our databases!

We hope to see some of you next month.

Stay safe,

TABS

Swanny

IX(B) Sqn Association Sep Sec

20211008IX(B) Assoc Remembrance

This year members of No IX(B) Squadron Association have been invited to join the annual 617 Squadron Association annual Tirpitz Dinner at the Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa. Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, recently retired from the RAF and previously a member of IX(B) Squadron, has been invited to be the Guest of Honour.

The Dinner will be held on the evening of Saturday 13 November. The following day members of both Associations and their guests are invited to St Peters Church in Woodhall Spa for a Remembrance Day Service. This will be followed by a parade to the centre of Woodhall Spa and the laying of wreathes on the town War Memorial and the 617 Squadron Memorials.

Members and guests are then invited to travel independently to Woodhall Spa Airfield for a further short service and wreath-laying ceremony.

There will be sandwiches and cake available for a small charge in the Petwood Hotel after the visit to the Airfield.

Members are advised that the Hotel continues to take anti-Covid precautions and encourages guests to do likewise. In particular, any meals other than the Dinner on the Saturday evening and the Sandwich/Cake lunch on the Sunday must be booked in advance directly with the Hotel.

Please complete the attached a booking proforma as soon as convenient and not later than 30 September. If you have any questions please contact me, Ian Dugmore, by e-mail or phone: Sec617@outlook.com 07889 150836

IX(B) Squadron Association Members may wish to know that their Project Officer for the event is Lenny Nixon at association.vicechairman@9sqn.co.uk

Dear Assn members,

Due to the current climate, the Association Committee has decided to hold the 2021 AGM virtually like we did in 2020.

The date for the AGM is 26 May 2021.

Minutes from the previous AGM can be viewed below.

AGM 29 Sep 20

Once the finer details are ironed out, I’ll post a link here to the AGM so if you wish to dial in, you can.

TABS! 

Swanny

The Association is planning to hold the 2021 reunion at RAF Lossiemouth in October 2021. Alfie Ferguson has re-opened his travel agency, and members should have been contacted. There will be an end of year email going out over the next few days that will cover off this and other planned dates for 2021. 

Hopefully we will see the back of the turmoil that has scuppered all our plans for 2020, and we will meet again!

On behalf of all the association committee, we wish you all the very best Christmas, and hopefully 2021 will bring us better times!

As always, our thoughts are with those serving overseas at this time of year, and those for who 2020 has seen tragedy strike.

TABS

Swanny

Due to the lack of a reunion this year, the Association is holding a virtual raffle with various prizes to be won!

For all the details, please see CLICK THIS LINK

TABS

Swanny

Remembrance Sunday 2020.

Sadly the Cenotaph march past has been cancelled for 2020.

The association is still planning to hold its annual remembrance service at Bardney, unless COVID lock down rules prevent this form happening.

Anyone wishing to attend, please contact the newly appointed Vice President, Nick Hay on the following email address.
association.vicepresident@9sqn.co.uk

TABS
Swanny

I am sure it will come as no surprise that at a virtual meeting of the Association Committee last night, we agreed that the September 2020 Dinner at RAF Lossiemouth should be cancelled. In reality we had no choice as Lossiemouth had already cancelled all their 2020 functions before and after our planned dinner.
Those of you who have paid deposits will be contacted separately by the Vice President (Assn Lead) regarding your options.
It is our intention to hold the 2021 Reunion Event at RAF Lossiemouth, subject to all of the normal approvals; the provisional date is Sat 18 Sep 21 and we will aim to get early confirmation.
There may also be an opportunity to dine with the Junior Squadron Assn at the Petwood hotel, Woodhall Spa, on Sat 7 Nov 20. If you are interested please let Lenny Nixon, the Vice Chairman know by 31 Jul 20; he can be contacted at association.vicechairman@9sqn.co.uk

Dear All

At this challenging time, please see a link to RAFA’s Operation Connect initiative. It is there for all of us, from current serving members to RAF veterans and their families.

Operation Connect

Under the Op Connect initiative, RAFA will be launching four new emergency projects under and they are also looking for volunteers to assist.

Therefore, firstly, this Op is for you so please use should the desire or need arise (if you need RAFA’s help and support – or even just a friendly chat – please do not hesitate to contact them by phoning 0800 018 2361) and secondly, if you can assist, by volunteering to help with one of their emergency projects, please email OpConnect@rafa.org.uk to find out more. The four new projects are as follows:

A telephone outreach service which will proactively support our beneficiaries and other high-risk members of our RAF community to check on their welfare and offer them regular contact (telephone or online).

A friendship helpline that anyone in our RAF community can call if they are feeling isolated, in need of more specific support or simply want a chat with someone friendly who understands.

A daily RAF-themed online entertainment slot that people can look forward to as part of their routine while they are isolating, from quizzes to live-streamed sing-a-longs and armchair fitness sessions.

Bag drops of vital provisions to the doorsteps of the most vulnerable members of our RAF family.

Finally, our Association is here for you too. If you want some advice and do not know where to start, feel free to contact any of the Committee Members and we will try to point you in the right direction.

Keep safe.

Nick Hay
Chairman, IX(B) Squadron Association

Some good news in these dark times.

RAF Squadrons Receive Battle Honours