A.F.C. stands for Australian Flying Corps originally formed in 1912 following the 1911 London Imperial Conference's decision that the British Empire as a whole should consider that the aeroplane could become a future activity within possible warfare.
A.I.F. stands for Australian Infantry Forces. In World War I, the forces were collectively called the 1st A.I.F. In WWII, they were called the 2nd A.I.F.
A.M.F. stands for Australian Military Forces, a term that eventually died out when Australian army, navy and air-forces established their own individual services.
CLIFTY KINGS [Translation: the best thieves in the
desert!]
Although one could easily wonder whether the
"CLIFTY" aspect to 3 Squadron's activities could have bordered on
the dishonest, in fact their talents
were
only directed towards
daily survival within the often chaotic military system, finding
sufficient support items to "keep-on-keeping-on".
R.F.C. stands for Royal Flying Corps, which was the English equivalent of Australia's newly formed military flying service. The R.F.C. changed its name and structure to the Royal Air Force (or R.A.F.) in 1918.
R.A.A.F. stands for Royal Australian Air Force. Officially announced by Commonwealth of Australia Gazette dated 31 March 1921. Originally, it was called the "Australian Air Force" and the word "Royal" was added in August 1921.
Richmond is the major R.A.A.F base, only a few hours drive from Sydney, NSW, Australia, from which the first contingent of airmen marched-out in 1940. Once every five years, the Association still visits the base to commemorate that event.