207 Squadron RAF Association - Order of Service - Dedication of Memorial Book 5 Nov 1989

207 Squadron Royal Air Force Association
Dedication of the Memorial Book
5th November 1989

The Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment, conducted by its Director of Music, Flight Lieutenant D Davison, ARCM RAF, will play for the Service.

At 2.25 pm the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, the Lord Mayor of Leicester, The High Sherriff of Leicestershire and the High Bailiff of Leicester, and their ladies, will be escorted to their seats by the Cathedral Wardens.

At 2.30 pm Trumpeters of the band of the Royal Air Force Regiment will sound a Fanfare on the arrival of Sir Lewis Hodges, Vice-President of the Bomber Command Association, The President of 207 Squadron Association, the Officer bearing the 207 Squadron Memorial Book, and the Escort.

The Provost and the Residentiary Canons and other Clergy welcome them at the South Porch. The Band plays the Royal Air Force March whilst the Memorial Book is carried in procession the High Altar.

Dearly Beloved, we have come together in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ to receive into the safe keeping of this Cathedral Church the Memorial Book containing the names of the members of No. 7 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service and No. 207 Squadron, Royal Air Force who lost their lives whilst serving on the Squadron. We remember their sacrifice with humble thanksgiving. We pray for their families and colleagues, and for all who have died as a result of war. We pray for the peace beyond human understanding which God's Holy Spirit alone can give, in the words which Jesus Christ himself has taught us:

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Tune: Old Hundredth - Geneva Psalter

1. All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, his praise forth tell,
Come ye before him, and rejoice.

2. The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.

3. O enter then his gates with praise;
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

4. For Why? the Lord our God is good:
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

5. To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the angel-host
Be praise and glory evermore.

THE LESSON
Read by Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges, RAF (Retired)
Revelation vii, 9 - 16

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!". And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen!"

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come ?" I said to him,, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall. hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Tune: Ravenshaw - H W Baker

1. Lord, thy word abideth,
And our footsteps guideth,
Who its truth believeth
Light and joy receiveth.

2. When our foes are near us,
Then thy word doth cheer us
Word of consolation,
Message of salvation.

3. When the storms are o'er us,
And dark clouds before us,
Then its light directeth,
And our way protecteth.

4. Who can tell the pleasure,
Who recount. the treasure,
By thy word imparted
To the simple-hearted?

5. Word of Mercy, giving
Succour to the living;
Word of life, supplying
Comfort to the dying.

6. O that we discerning
Its most holy learning,
Lord, may love and fear thee;
Evermore be near thee.

Almighty God, whose kingdom is everlasting and power infinite: Have Mercy upon the whole Church; and so rule the heart of thy chosen servant, Elizabeth our Queen and Governor, that she (knowing whose minister she is) may above all things seek thy honour and glory: and that we and all her subjects (duly considering whose authority she hath) may faithfully serve, honour, and humbly obey her, in thee and for thee, according to thy blessed Word and ordinance; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Almighty God, who makest the clouds thy chariot and walkest upon the wings of the storm, look in mercy we beseech thee upon the Royal Air Force and especially those who are called to tasks of peril in the air. Help them to do their duty with prudence and with fearlessness, confident that in life or in death the eternal God is their refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. Grant this for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

May the strength of God pilot us.
May the power of God preserve us.
May the wisdom of God instruct us.
May the hand of God protect us.
May the way of God direct us.
May the shield of God defend us.
May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.
May Christ be with us, Christ before us, Christ in us, Christ over us. May thy salvation, O Lord, be ours this day and for evermore.
Amen.

THE SERMON
The Venerable B N Halfpenny, QHC MA Chaplain-in-Chief, Royal Air Force

THE PRESENTING OF
No. 207 SQUADRON MEMORIAL BOOK

During the following hymn the Chaplain-in-Chief and dignitaries of the Cathedral, together with the Vice-President of the Bomber Command Association, The President of No. 207 Squadron Association, with the Officer bearing the MEMORIAL BOOK, and the escort, are escorted to the place in the South Aisle.

HYMN

Tune: Maccabaeus - G F Handel

Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
Endless is the victory thou o'er death hast won;
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave-clothes where the body lay.

Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory thou o'er death hast won.

Lo, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the Church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
For her Lord now liveth, death has lost its sting:

No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of Life;
Life is nought without thee: aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conquerors through thy deathless love;
Bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.

After the hymn, the Officer with the Book shall present it to the Provost and the Presidents, and the President of 207 Squadron RAF Association shall say:

Mr. Provost, I present to this Cathedral Church and to your especial care, this Memorial Book, containing the names of 978 men who lost their lives while serving on the Squadron.

The Provost shall reply:

Sir, we shall forever treasure this book which you deposit here to-day in grateful memory of those who are commemorated therein.

The Provost shall then deposit the Book in the case in the South Aisle.

O God our Father who hast called us into the fellowship of thy holy Church through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, we beseech thee to remember for good those who have died honourably and bravely for the cause of freedom, truth and goodness. Grant them a perfect rest, heavenly peace and a joyful resurrection. By thy holy spirit, inspire us who come after to live and work for the perfecting of thy kingdom on earth as it is in heaven; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the faith of Jesus Christ and in memory of those who should never be forgotten, we dedicate and hallow this Book in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O God of the spirits of all flesh, we praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy servants who, having fought a good fight, have finished their course in tlyy faith and fear; and we beseech thee that, encouraged by their examples and strengthened by their fellowship, we with them may be found worthy to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The trumpeters shall then sound the call of the Royal Air Force, the Last Post and the Reveille.

HYMN

Tune: Sine Nomine - R Vaughan Williams

During the singing of this hymn the Procession will return from the South Aisle, and a collection will be taken in aid of the. Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

For all the saints who from their labours rest,
Who thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesu, be forever blessed.
Allelulia.

Thou wast their rock, their fortress and their might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness, still their one true Light.
Allelulia.

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.
Allelulia.

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Allelulia.

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.
Allelulia.

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest:
Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest.
Allelulia.

But lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array:
The King of Glory passes on his way.
Allelulia.

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.
Allelulia.

After the Offertory Plates have been taken to the High Altar there shall be said:

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving kindness to us, and to all men; We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and for all the blessings of this life; But above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, And for the hope of glory. And we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

The God of peace, who brought from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

The Provost and the Residentiary Canons and other Clergy, followed by Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges, The President of 207 Squadron RAF Association, the Bearer of the Book and its Escort, the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, the Lord Mayor of Leicester, The High Sherriff of Leicestershire and the High Bailiff of Leicester, and their Ladies, will proceed to the South Porch.

Members of the Congregation are requested not to leave their seats until the above Procession has left the South Porch.

During the Procession the Band will play.

The Bells shall ring.