Cpl Adi Pickup from Station Operations at RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire, initiated operation Harry-Air Bear in July 2000.  Assisted by his work mate Cpl Jane Allen, the intention was to fly a teddy bear, donated by Wittering Playschool, with all the RAF flying stations based in the UK.  Harry-Air has his own flight Logbook and was accompanied everywhere by a camera.  At the end of his travels, Harry-Air, his logbook, and photograph logbook will be auctioned with all proceeds to BBC Children in Need.

Click here to go to the Auction site and bid for Harry and his Logbooks

In July, BBC Children In Need Presenter Gaby Roslin visited RAF Wittering to fly with 20(R) Squadron and Harry-Air Bear on his final sortie with the Royal Air Force. Here is her account of that day.

Harry-Air departed to Lossiemouth in November to fly with 14 Sqn, who had returned to the UK from RAF Bruggen, Germany. He spent several weeks there, enjoying Christmas and hogmonay in the Scottish countryside, flying in the New Year and 'back up to speed with a high quality performance'.

The 'legend' of Operation Harry-Air Bear was included in the Chief Of The Air Staff's report to Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee, 2002.

Harry-Air started what is, with a bit of luck, last leg of his travels at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire. Whilst there he flew with 2 of the 3 fighter squadrons on Exercise Clean Hunter and took advantage of the hospitality of a Royal Norwegian Air Force detachment by flying a sortie in an F16 Falcon, (he will return to fly with 11 Sqn at a later date). After a week at Leeming he was posted to the RAF Display Team - The Red Arrows at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. As the pinnacle of any pilots' flying ambitions, Harry-Air was, naturally very honoured and excited to be part of the team. After a shakedown sortie to check his G tolerance with Red 1, Wing Commander Andy Offer, he flew at the RAF Waddington Airshow, in front of 200,000 spectators, on 30 June 2001 in Red 3 with Flt Lt Christian Gleave. Next season Harry- Air will replace Red 3 and become the 'syncro-bear'. After a couple of days of "Diamond 9... Go!" and "Smoke On, Smoke On!" Harry Air was on the move again. This time 8 miles south to RAF Waddington.

Station Ops' charity drive for Children in Need continued in the New Year with our intrepid traveller- 'Harry-Air' Bear, in the wilds of North Yorkshire at RAF Linton-On-Ouse. He was due to fly in a Tucano but due to the dismal weather was delayed for several days. Eventually he took off with Captain Ade Morley RM as his pilot; thus flying with one of the few Royal Marines fixed wing pilots in the UK.

His first trip was at RAF Wittering in a GR7 Harrier of 1(F) Squadron in one of their last sorties before relocation to RAF Cottesmore, followed the next day by a sortie with 20(R) Sqn in a T10 Harrier.