SOAS, University of London

SOAS, University of London (the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a constituent college of the University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS has produced several heads of states, government ministers, ambassadors, Supreme Court judges, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and many other notable leaders around the world.

Located in the heart of Bloomsbury in central London, SOAS is recognised as the leading institution for the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and is ranked amongst the top universities in Britain. It specialises in the humanities, languages and social sciences of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and offers around 350 undergraduate bachelor's degree combinations, and over 100 one-year master's degrees.

History

Origins

The School of Oriental Studies was founded in 1916 at 2 Finsbury Circus, London, the then premises of the London Institution. The school received its royal charter on 5 June 1916 and admitted its first students on 18 January 1917. The school was formally inaugurated a month later on 23 February 1917 by King George V. Among those in attendance were Earl Curzon of Kedleston, formerly Viceroy of India, and other cabinet officials.

427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron

427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (427 SOAS) (French: 427^e Escadron d'opérations spéciales d'aviation, 427 EOSA) is a tactical helicopter unit that provides aviation support to Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. The squadron is based at CFB Petawawa, Ontario with a fleet of Bell CH-146 Griffon helicopters. It was originally founded as No. 427 Squadron RCAF.

History

427 Squadron started as a bomber squadron formed at Croft, England on 7 November 1942 and spent its wartime entirely in England as a part of No. 6 Group RCAF, RAF Bomber Command. 427 flew Vickers Wellington Mk IIIs and Mk Xs from its first operational mission on 14 December 1942, a minelaying sortie to the Frisian Islands, until May 1943 when it was relocated to Leeming, North Yorkshire. Re-equipped with Handley Page Halifax Mk V aircraft, the squadron flew intensely until early 1944 when it replaced its inventory with Halifax Mk III aircraft. This fleet saw the greatest number of missions and in slightly more than a year's time they were then replaced by Avro Lancaster bombers prior to the end of WWII. The Lancasters were used for Prisoner of War repatriation until the end of May 1946. 427 was stood down on 1 June 1946.