RAFMRS - RAFMRA -Two Star Red Foreword by Lord Tedder

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FOREWORD

by Marshal of the Royal Air Force,
The Lord Tedder

UNDERSTATEMENT is by way of being a national habit of ours, and nowhere is it more evident than in these records of the R.A.F. Mountain Rescue Service, and yet, through the curtain of reticence there glow enthralling examples of devotion, courage, superhuman endurance, and sudden calls at all hours of the day or night (for speed is more often than not literally a matter of life and death).

Two Star Red demands our deep respect and unstinted admiration. It is a vivid expression of the motto of the R.A.F. per ardua ad astra, 'through adversity to the stars'.

Let it not be thought that the habit of understatement is in any way a pose. It is inspired by that "certain humility" which, as the author says, "is required in the attitude towards mountains". The poet Cowper expressed it, "wisdom is humble that he knows no more". There is no end to the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom. As increasing numbers of young people go to the mountains, so is the greater risk of casualties through ignorance, carelessness and over-confidence. Above all, in the early days, is that humility essential.