“The grant from the Fund made a very difficult situation bearable”

For RAF Corporal John Cross, the RAF Benevolent Fund offered a lifeline whilst his son was in hospital. Thanks to the Fund’s financial assistance, John was able to be by his son’s side without the burden of unexpected costs.

Corporal John Cross is an Aircraft Engineer Mechanic based at RAF Marham. Now in his 16th year of service, John has had postings in Poland, Al Minhad, and on HMS Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier.

John became familiar with the work of the Fund during a Junior Management Leadership Course at RAF Halton and had been involved with a variety of station fundraising challenges when based at RAF Cosford. 

In 2016, John reached out to the Fund for support when his one-year-old son, Henry, was admitted to hospital with croup, a respiratory infection that affects babies and young children’s airways.

John said: “Croup isn’t normally life-threatening, but Henry had ongoing issues with it, and his throat completely closed up. To know just how bad it was, the biggest tube they could get in to intubate him was four millimetres.”

When Henry was admitted to Addenbrooke’s hospital, the Fund stepped in to support the family with a grant of £400 to enable them to visit Henry without worry.

“The support we received covered the costs of our accommodation, food and petrol for our daily visits to the hospital. I was able to take compassionate leave from work and everyone was so supportive.

“My ex-wife was pregnant with our second child at the time and money was tight. It was just a really stressful time. The financial support took away a lot of the worry. It meant we were able to be there for our son without any worries and could just focus on him.”

John added: “The Fund openly told us that if we were to need anything else, ‘please come to us’ – which gave us a lot of reassurance. They made a very difficult situation bearable, to know that we had someone to reach out to, was such a comfort.”

After two weeks in hospital, Henry made a full recovery and returned home. John continued to be inspired by the help available for members of the RAF Family and wanted to give back in any way he could.

John has taken part in multiple solo fundraising challenges, including walking 50 miles in one day in 2024, and walking 290 miles to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, to support the RAF Family. He said: “I now want to champion the Fund and the services that are available to help others like me.”