RAF CAPS Prizes and Awards
RAF CAPS PRIZES AND AWARDS
The Park Prize
Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park was one of the most effective operational air commanders of the Second World War. A New Zealander by birth, he joined the RFC in 1917 after a spell as a gunner and by 1918 was commanding 48 Squadron, having won the DFC, MM and Croix de Guerre. After commanding a number of fighter stations in the inter-war years, Park was promoted air vice marshal and appointed to command No 11 Group in time for the Dunkirk evacuation, later winning immortality for his masterful handling of his pivotal sector throughout the Battle of Britain. After his well publicised dispute with the Air Officer commanding No 12 Group, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Park was moved to Malta, where as the Air Officer Commanding he again played a key role in gaining and maintaining control of the air. Park later commanded in the Middle East and, finally, brought operations in the Far East to a successful conclusion as Air Commander South East Asia. Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park retired in 1945 and died in 1975. Further details of his career are available in Vincent Orange’s Biography of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, published in 1984 by Methuen.
The Park Prize is worth £200 and is awarded annually to the best essay on an air power-related theme submitted to RAF CAPS by a serving RAF junior officer, non-commissioned officer, airman or airwoman. Submissions should be received by 1 November and sent to the address detailed on the Air Power Review web-page, on this site. The winning entry, if of sufficient merit, will be published in the spring edition of Air Power Review. Adjudication will be conducted by the Air Power Review editorial board, whose decision will be final. Submissions should be between 2000-10000 words in length and comply with the Air Power Review style guide.
The Salmond Prize
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Salmond learned to fly in 1912. During World War I, he commanded several RFC formations and was Director-General of Military Aeronautics before being appointed General Officer Commanding the RFC in the field, becoming the first General Officer Commanding the RAF on its creation in 1918. In the 1920s, he pioneered air policing when in charge of Iraq Command. Salmond was appointed Chief of the Air Staff in succession to Trenchard, fighting to keep the RAF an independent force during the bitter parsimony of the inter-war years. Promoted as Marshal of the RAF, he relinquished the post of CAS to his older brother, Sir Geoffrey Salmond, in 1933, but was temporarily re-appointed when his brother died just 27 days later. During the Second World War, Salmond was Director of Armament Production at the Ministry of Aircraft Production, but resigned after clashing with Lord Beaverbrook. Salmond then became Director-General of Flying Control and Air Sea Rescue before retiring in 1943. He died in 1968, aged 87. More details of his life can be found in John Laffin’s Swifter than eagles: A biography of Marshal of the RAF Sir John Salmond, William Blackwood & Sons Ltd (1964), and Henry Probert’s High Commanders of the Royal Air Force, HMSO (1991).
The Salmond Prize is a £200 open award made annually to the best essay on an air power topic submitted to RAF CAPs by a civilian or non-RAF serviceman or servicewomen of any service or nationality. Submissions should be in accordance with the guidance provided above for the Park Prize.
