The "Royal Air Force March Past" is the official

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) and is used in some other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

air forces, such as the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. The original score was completed by

Walford Davies Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, du ...

in 1918 for the new RAF. It combined the rhythm of the

bugle call A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used ...

of the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

with that of the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

. The call appears in both the introduction and the coda. It was originally known as the Adastral I (in reference to the RAF's motto). The second part of the march past, the trio, was composed by Sir George Dyson. The march can be played both as a slow march and a quick march, and has been used as both when the King's Colour Squadron and RAF bands perform public duties such as mounting the guard at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

Canadian version

Authority was granted in February 1943 by

His Majesty's Stationery Office The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...

to publish the "RAF March Past" piece in Canada under the title "RCAF March Past". It was the official march of the

until the

unification of the Canadian Armed Forces The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces took place on 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form the Canadian Armed Forces. History A white paper was tabled in the Parliame ...

in 1968. Following unification, the march was authorized for use in the

Air Operations Branch The Air Operations Branch () is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces (CF). All members of the branch wear the air force uniform. Training Royal Canadian Air Force Academy The Royal Canadian Air Force Academy (RCAF Academy) at CFB Borden pro ...

, and further authorized as the command march of Air Command in 1975, later renamed back to its historic name as the

in 2011. The RCAF March Past continues as the official march of the RCAF. It is also the official march of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and the Air Force Association of Canada. A pipe band arrangement was composed in the 1950s by Pipe Major Alex Howie of the

CFB Trenton Canadian Forces Base Trenton (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hub ...

Pipe Band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, ...

, and a trio for pipes was composed in 1970 by Pipe Major Archie Cairns.

Lyrics

The following are the lyrics to be sung to the Trio section of the march (composed by George Dyson). It references the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

of the RAF, ''" Per Ardua Ad Astra"'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, "Through adversity to the stars"). :RAF March Past :Through adversities we'll conquer. :Blaze into the stars, :A trail of glory :We'll live on land and sea :'Til victory is won. :Men in blue the skies are winging :In each heart one thought is ringing. :Fight for the right, :God is our might, :We shall be free.

Audio samples

Audio of the RAF March Past

RCAF March Past on YouTube

References

{{reflist *Tracy, Robert. "Our Symbols - A Historical Link With Our Air Force Roots". ''Air Force Magazine''. Vol. 22, No. 3. 1998. ISSN 0704-6804. pp. 94–96. * Air Force Association of Canada. ''Air Force on the March!'' CD liner notes. British military marches Royal Air Force March Past Royal Air Force music 1918 compositions Songs about aviators