Leaving a legacy to the RAF Benevolent Fund

There are many ways to support the RAF Benevolent Fund and one of those is to leave a legacy in your will. 

One person who has decided to do so is Sue Weaver, who has made the pledge in honour of her RAF veteran stepfather Wing Commander Cyril Povey, OBE, DFC.   

Wing Commander Povey had a long and distinguished career in the RAF serving in Bomber Command, as a Halifax pilot, during the Second World War, then taking part in the post-war Berlin Airlift, which Sue said was "very emotive stuff". 

He then had a number of postings including becoming an instructor and Vampire pilot, at RAF Cranwell. He eventually retired in 1968 and died in 1996. 

Sue said: "My stepfather married my mother when I was five and I grew up entirely in the Air Force family until I was 24, when we had our last overseas posting. The RAF Benevolent Fund has always been in my consciousness somehow. I think when I first started taking a particular interest in it was on visits to the RAF Museum and, also, they were looking after the Bomber Command Memorial, and I had the opportunity to do something with them. It is the connection with Bomber Command. And my stepfather left a small legacy in his will to the Fund." 

Sue's stepfather was in Bomber Command and started as Sergeant Pilot. By the time he was 22 he was Pilot Officer and then Flying Officer and he was captaining Halifax Bombers at that time at the early age of 22. 

Asked about her support for the Fund, Sue said: "The story I have is about how my stepfather attended a reunion, which was not something he would have usually done, and he was upset about those who didn’t come back and, of course, in Bomber Command there were an awful lot. He was saying about how lucky he was to survive and it sort of made me think it would be nice to support the families of people who haven’t come back, or have come back injured and so on."

Sue, who is a contributor to 'Oranges & Lemons', the newsletter of the RAF Church, St Clement Danes, added: "I know that my contributions and those of others help improve the lives of so many veterans and their families, so I would say to anyone who was undecided about supporting the RAF Benevolent Fund, to go to the website and see what they do, then just do it!"

To find out more about leaving a legacy to the RAF Benevolent Fund click here