Sadly, RAFA-MSB's last two World War II veteran members, Frank Smith and Richard (Dick) Harold Froom, passed away in July, both aged 101.

Frank joined the RAF in December 1941 as a wireless operator, becoming skilled in Morse code, including deciphering messages in Japanese. In 1943, he was posted to India, but due to an adverse reaction to the climate in Bombay, he was sent back to the UK in 1944. He spent the remainder of his service in Britain, with a brief posting to Celle, Germany, where he witnessed the horrors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Frank was demobilised in 1946 with the rank of Leading Aircraftman. After the war, his expertise as a wireless operator led him to roles with Cable & Wireless and later the Post Office, where he worked until retirement. Frank lived in Glastonbury, and his funeral took place at 2:30 pm on Thursday, 25 July, at Glastonbury Cemetery Chapel. The service was attended by his daughter Edwina, friends, neighbours, and members of the MSB Branch.

Richard joined the RAF in 1943, training as a wireless operator and air gunner. In June 1944, he was posted to No. 302 Ferry Training Unit in Oban, Scotland. The following month, he was part of a crew that delivered a Catalina flying boat to Madras via Gibraltar and the Middle East. Upon returning to the UK, Richard was posted to RAF Chivenor, flying with 14 Squadron's Wellington Mk XIV in Coastal Command until the end of the war. A poet, Richard penned the emotive poem 'The Cinderella Service' inspired by this period. He left the RAF as a flight sergeant and returned to London, where he worked for London Transport before retiring to Norfolk and eventually Somerset.

Richard married Florence Turner on 14 June 1944, the day before his posting to Oban. They were married for 78 years until Florence's passing shortly after Richard's 100th birthday. Richard lived in Wells, and his funeral was held at Mendip Crematorium on Wednesday, 31 July. The service was attended by his daughters, Hilary and Marilyn, their husbands, his younger brother, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, long-term friends, neighbours, MSB Branch members, and two current members from 14 Squadron at RAF Waddington.