RAF St Mawgan

15/10/2026

As autumn takes hold, we look back into the height of summer to Penhale Training Area. Join Flight Lieutenant John Hudson as he shares an insight into the Defence SERE Training Organisation (DSTO) and explains why Cornwall's unique landscape makes it the perfect setting for this challenging and essential training.

A warm welcome to all our new followers joining us after our recent wildlife video. Flt Lt Hudson shares another great example of how our personnel actively protect and care for the environments where they live and work.

03/10/2026

After three months out in the woods, we collected our wildlife trail cameras back in for maintenance.

We maintain constant wildlife monitoring which helps us understand the different species using the land, their movements and how extensive the populations are.

The cameras are now undergoing a deep clean to remove all the mud, cobwebs and detritus. They will be placed back into the woods on Monday and left to capture what the local wildlife gets up to over the autumn months.

30/09/2026

Recently personnel from across RAF St Mawgan joined members of the Defence Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract Training Organisation (DSTO) to take part in a Gurkha inspired charity Doko Race, raising over £500 for the Gurkha Welfare Trust.

Organised by Colour Sergeant Naresh from DSTO, participants completed a 3km course carrying up to 15kg in a traditional Nepalese Doko basket, daysack or bergen, inspired by one of the physical challenges undertaken during Gurkha selection in Nepal. Others took part by walking or running the course without weight. The race was won by Corporal Jimmy from DSTO who took the lead early and maintained a blistering pace until the end.

Our thanks to all those that organised or supported the event for bringing this experience to our station personnel.

13/09/2026

This morning RAF St Mawgan personnel, families, veterans, cadets and locals gathered at the beautiful St Eval church to commemorate the Battle of Britain.

The service was conducted by the Reverend (Wing Commander) Andrew Turner (Retired), the reading was delivered by RAF St Mawgan Station Commander, Wing Commander Gareth Elliott and the act of Remembrance led by Mr Chris Cox, Chairman of the RAFA St Mawgan Branch.

Musical accompaniment was provided by the wonderful ladies of the St Mawgan Military Wives Choir who also led us beautifully in the hymns.

12/09/2026

Yesterday, personnel from RAF St Mawgan were privileged to join hundreds of local residents and dignitaries in Hayle to honour a true Cornish hero, Cyril Richard ‘Rick’ Rescorla, on the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

Beginning with a short parade through the town to the Rick Rescorla memorial on Penpol Terrace, Squadron Leader Hall, OC Engineering, laid a wreath on behalf of RAF St Mawgan alongside the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, High Sheriff, armed forces colleagues, veterans, and local schoolchildren.

Following the service, team members visited the King George V Memorial Walk to view the moving display of 2,977 scallop shell poppies installed by The Veterans Charity and volunteers. The installation remains open to the public until the end of September.

A remarkable man, Rick Rescorla was born, in 1939, and grew up in Hayle. During his national service he served as an officer in the Parachute Regiment in the British Army before later joining the Rhodesian police force and then the London Metropolitan Police. In 1963, he joined the US Army, serving in Vietnam and promoting to colonel. After becoming a US citizen in 1969 he eventually became vice president for security at Morgan Stanley. Anticipating a terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre, he trained the company’s 2,700 staff that were based there on evacuating the skyscraper in an emergency. Tragically, Rick lost his life after re-entering the South Tower to search for missing colleagues. Out of 2,700 employees, Morgan Stanley lost just six that day due to his decisive actions.

10/09/2026

Congratulations to all the nominees and every category winner at BBC Cornwall Make A Difference Awards.

We were delighted that our brilliant Warrant Officer Kev was a finalist in the Fundraiser Award category for the work he's done over the past couple of years in support of Newquay Foodbank with an ever-growing number of Station personnel getting involved to help him.

RAF St Mawgan's Kev Riddle wanted to tackle food insecurity in a memorable way, so he and his team took on epic coastal walks dressed as food items while pushing a modified shopping trolley.

The challenge raised awareness, collected food donations and supported Newquay Foodbank, with even bigger fundraising plans ahead.

He's now been nominated for a BBC Radio Cornwall Make A Difference Award. Hear their story here: https://bbc.in/3Tbem5h

08/09/2026

Last week, we were pleased to welcome Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, alongside members of the RAF Executive Leadership Team.

As part of their wider station tour, the team visited key sections across the base, inspected ongoing infrastructure projects, and met with senior personnel to discuss critical operational work.

The visit wrapped up with a Whole Force town hall, giving personnel at every level a direct look into current priorities across the RAF and Defence, followed by an open Q&A session with the executive team.

28/08/2026

Digging deep to deliver operational excellence

RAF St Mawgan welcomed personnel from 530 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (Materials) for Exercise MOLE ENDEAVOUR 26, conducting geotechnical investigations across six sites. The exercise gathered critical ground data that will help inform future estate development, reduce project risk and support more effective planning and investment decisions across the Defence estate. It also provided an opportunity to validate specialist skills in a realistic environment, demonstrating the team’s expertise, operational readiness and ability to support Defence infrastructure requirements both in the UK and worldwide.

19/08/2026

The Station Commander and Station Warrant Officer popped over to Bodmin Keep: Cornwall's Army Museum earlier today, to check out the skills of some future aviators and engineers! Members of RAF St Mawgan’s Engineering & Logistics Squadron have been stepping away from their regular roles to deliver a series of STEM workshops at The Keep over the summer holidays. It was great to meet all the families who came along ready for lift off 🚀

07/08/2026

It’s been an exciting week for the aviation enthusiasts among us on station, with the Cornwall Airport Newquay airfield delivering a bit of everything!

On Monday we got to enjoy the final day of flying for the FlyaSpitfire.com Spitfire and P51 Mustang after a week of operating passenger flights. Hearing those iconic engines as the soundtrack to our work day has been a real pleasure and we hope to see them back in Cornwall next year.

The tempo stayed high throughout the week with numerous routine training sorties from our RAF A400’s, alongside a quick visit from a Belgian Air Force A400M.

To top it all off, we hosted a pair of CH-47 Chinooks from No. 28 (AC) Squadron, RAF Benson, on exercise for a few days. While here, the crew invited cadets from the current Air Cadets summer camp to tour the aircraft on the pan, before taking a group of our Station personnel on a training sortie down the Cornish coast. It was a brilliant opportunity for those who hadn't worked with the Chinook force before—and fantastic to hear that distinctive sound in the local skies.

We know many of you were out capturing these aircraft in action, so please share your photos and videos in the comments below—we’d love to see them!