Vanbrugh Castle School

Newspaper cuttings 1975
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Kentish Independent 20 November 1975


RAF heroes present painting to pupils





TWO pilots in the RAF stunt team the Red Arrows paid a visit to the forces benevolent fund prep school, Vanbrugh Castle, on Tuesday.

The boys heroes — Sqn. Ldr. Adrian Wall and Fit. Lieut. Roy Barber — brought with them a painting of one of their formations.

It was painted by the retired assistant editor of the Gloucester Echo, Mr. Percy Mills. He presented the picture to the team but they felt it should go to the boys.

So a special visit was paid to the Maze Hill school to present the painting to the lads person­ally.

Now the painting hangs in pride of place in the entrance hall of the school - so everyone can see it.


Kent Mercury 20 November 1975


Flt Lt Barber (left) and Sqn Ldr Adrian Wall with Julian Pearse, Ian Curry and Stephen Hammond.


Boys at Vanbrugh Castle school are unlikely to forget the day the RAF's Red Arrows aerobatic team dropped in on them.

They would clearly have preferred the flyers to arrive with a quick roll off the top followed by a stall turn in formation at five thousand feet over Blackheath.

But they had to be con­tent with two members of the team arriving by car.

Squadron Loader Adrian Wall and team manager Flight Lieutenant Roy Barber were there to present an oil painting of the team at their base in Gloucester, to the school.

Squadron Leader Wall said Percy Mills editor of the Gloucester Echo, painted the picture from a photograph used in his new­spaper and had agreed to donate it to the school which is for boys of RAF men who have died.

It will have a pride of place at Vanbrugh Castle School entrance hall.


RAF News August 1975



AIR Marshal Sir Neil Cameron, Air Member for Personnel, presented the prizes at the annual Speech Day at Vanbrugh Castle School, the RAF Benevolent Fund's preparatory school at Blackheath, South London.

He said that, although it was his first visit to the school, he had known of its excellent service to the sons of deceased or disabled air­men for 30 years.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Walter Merton, chairman of the school committee, spoke of the school's move to Ewhurst in Surrey next year and of plans for its expansion, he paid tribute to the Fund's retir­ing Controller, Air Marshal Sir William Coles, to whom the school "owed a tremendous debt of gratitude."

The headmaster, Mr. W. P. Jones, said that Vanbrugh Castle, built by Sir John Vanbrugh .... [words missing]