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Octavia - ObituarySadly, 8 Sqn’s longest serving member passed away peacefully on Thursday 29 Nov 07 and has now been buried in the Sqn memorial garden. Octavia had been an 8 Sqn mascot since 7 Nov 78 and had faithfully served for 29 years before succumbing to old age. She was presented to the Sqn by the Highland Wildlife Park at Kingussie, Scotland as a young breeding female for her first mate Boo Boo. After a few years and 3 chicks, Boo Boo escaped and was last seen legging it across the airfield! He was replaced in 1991 with a toy boy named Augustus, a fine stud who was so terrified of her he hid behind the large feeding log for the first three months of their relationship! A powerful and commanding bird, her presence never went unnoticed, making her a perfect mascot for the Sqn. Her claim to fame was appearing on Blue Peter in 1980 where, having spent the night in the Hilton hooting out of the window, she reportedly wrote off the boss’s No 1 Jacket when she had a bit of a strop before going on the next day! Her 5 sons and daughters succeed her at various locations around the country, raising monies for Birds of Prey centres and zoos. Uspiam and Passim were donated to the Welsh Hawking Centre, ET was later given to the Aviemore Zoo, Gambia went to the Raptor Foundation charity in Cambridgeshire and finally Delta lives with FS Jimmy Tarbox and helps raise monies for the Friends of the Raptor Foundation.
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