Skywatch is the official regimental march of the

Royal Observer Corps The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 Decembe ...

. The march was composed and scored in 1972 by

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

Roy R C Davies RAF, at the time leader and conductor of the

Central Band of the Royal Air Force The Central Band of the Royal Air Force is an Royal Air Force, RAF regular band and is part of Royal Air Force Music Services. The motto of the band is ''Aere Invicti'' (Latin for "Invincible with the Brass"). History The Central Band of the R ...

. The tune is reminiscent of the march of the RAF and has been played on many formal occasions, including two Royal Garden Parties in the presence of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

RAF Bentley Priory RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. The Royal Air Force station c ...

and at the

Festival of Remembrance A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...

in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. In 1994 Davies donated the original score of Skywatch for inclusion in the book ''"Forewarned is Forearmed - a tribute to the Royal Observer Corps"''. Skywatch continues to feature on musical collections released by the Central Band of the Royal Air Force.''High Flight'' compact disk

References

British military marches Royal Observer Corps {{Classical-composition-stub