Overview

For eighty-two years the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), which in 1918 became the Royal Air Force (RAF), maintained a permanent military aviation presence in the Far East. The first RFC units arrived in India in 1915. RAF India grew substantially in the interwar period and throughout World War Two. Various changes in the command structure finally saw the creation of the Far East Air Force (FEAF) in June 1949, covering South East Asia and Hong Kong. In the 1960s the UK government decided to withdraw all forces East of Suez and on October 31, 1971, the FEAF disbanded and most UK forces withdrew from Singapore at this time. The last RAF unit to leave the region was 28 Squadron flying. They had been operating Whirlwind and Wessex helicopters in Hong Kong until the territory was handed back to China in 1997. RAF Boys in the Far East illustrates what it was like for those air and ground crew who were there by telling their stories in their own words, supported by explanation of the situations at the time primarily drawn from veterans' own collections. Today those veterans who look back on their time served in the FEAF do so with a great deal of pride, and rightly so. This is their story.

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Dr. Steve Bond is a life-long aviation professional and historian. He served in the Royal Air Force for twenty-two years as an aircraft propulsion technician, with tours on many different aircraft, and was part of the Eurofighter Typhoon project team in the MoD. A fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, he is also the author of many magazine articles and books, including Heroes All, Special Ops Liberators (with Richard Forder), Wimpy, Meteor Boys, and Javelin Boys for Grub Street. Russ Bain is an award-winning Scottish voice actor and narrator whose rich, versatile delivery has made him one of the most sought-after voices on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2024, he won the MADIO Award for Best Leading Voice Actor for his powerful performance in Victory by Joseph Conrad. His work has also earned him multiple prestigious nominations, including the Audio Production Awards for Best Narrator for Poor Things by Alasdair Gray, a Music and Sound Award for Best Vocal Performance in a Video Game for Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, and a British Book Award (NIBBIE) nomination for Best Narrator. Russ's distinctive voice has brought life to a wide range of roles. He stars as Red Mac Raith in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden and voices Craic Brother in DC's upcoming animated series Creature Commandos alongside Viola Davis, David Harbour, and Indira Varma. He also voices a central role in the highly anticipated Game of Thrones video game, adding to an impressive gaming portfolio that includes Senna's Saga: Hellblade II, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Titan Quest 2. As an audiobook narrator, Russ has built an acclaimed body of work, narrating Poor Things by Alasdair Gray as well as Chris Brookmyre's The Cracked Mirror, Carys Davies's Clear, and Alan McGee's How to Run an Indie Label, among many others. His narration is known for its warmth, authority, and emotional range, drawing listeners deep into the story world. On screen, Russ recently appeared in Netflix's Lift with Kevin Hart and has featured in acclaimed television series including Shetland, Peaky Blinders, Bodyguard, Trigger Point, Castle, and the upcoming Mint. A natural storyteller with a pitch-perfect ear for accents, Russ moves effortlessly between smokey and sincere to energetic and comedic. His range spans Scottish-Standard, American-Standard, Irish, Mid-Atlantic, RP, Northern, Neutral, London, and American Midwest. His documentary narration includes conversational, crime, dramatic, and light entertainment styles, always rooted in his native Scottish-British voice.

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