IN 1940, following the evacuation from Dunkirk, all that stood between the advancing German army and an invasion of our shores was the Royal Air Force.

This year, during the first two weeks of September, The Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) will be collecting for The Battle of Britain Wings Appeal in towns and villages throughout the UK.

The Appeal commemorates the heroic sacrifices made by the young men of Fighter Command who withstood the German onslaught during those few summer months in 1940 and of whom Winston Churchill said: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

The money given to The Battle of Britain Wings Appeal is used to provide welfare care for those who have served in the RAF and their dependants, not just the airmen and women who took part in the Second World War but today's service personnel and their families.

RAFA provides support for the whole RAF family when and where it is needed. We have a national network of welfare officers working in the community.

As more and more homes for the elderly close, the importance of the welfare services provided by RAFA increases dramatically.

To donate today, please ring Freephone 0800 0182361 or, alternatively, if you want more information on the Association you can write to me at the address given below.

Air Marshal SIR JOHN SUTTON KCB,

President,

The Royal Air Forces Association,

Freepost LON 1464

43 Grove Park Road,

Chiswick,

London W4 3BR