'The Two Phils': Padres Ready For New Postings After RAF Akrotiri

Two military padres at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus are returning to the UK for new postings.

Reverend, Squadron Leader Phil Corrigan and Reverend, Flight Lieutenant Phil Craven are fondly known as "the two Phils".

But they will go their separate ways - with Padre Corrigan heading to RAF Brize Norton and Padre Craven moving to the Defence Academy at Shrivenham.

In their roles at RAF Akrotiri, the two padres are on call 24-hours-a-day for personnel.

Their work ranges from leading church services on a Sunday to running a weekly coffee morning.

"He's just taken to calling me, 'Old Phil', so that works for him and I call him 'Young Phil', so it's simple," said Padre Corrigan.

"I've never come across as many Phils as I have before I joined the Air Force so it's quite surprising," said Padre Craven.

"It makes it slightly easy, but also slightly awkward, because if people say 'oh, I went to see Phil the other day', but which one was it?

"But it's also good if I do anything wrong and I can just blame the other Phil and say 'oh, it was the other Phil that made that mistake!'"

Padre Corrigan is a Methodist minister, while Padre Craven is a a Baptist minister and helps look after people serving on operations at the base. 

He said his work can be "quite lonely at times" as it involves "taking the burdens of people and listening to their stories".

He added: "It's lovely to have someone like Phil who understands the same as I do and we're able to share with each other."

Padre Corrigan said the two pray together and that they found the "fellowship side of [their] relationship really good".

Church services have recently resumed at RAF Akrotiri, having been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Padre Corrigan said the virus outbreak had changed his job "almost right away".

"We hadn’t been locked down at that point, but people started to cancel appointments who were coming to see me and I found that really weird to begin with because that's...90% of what I do," he said.

Padre Corrigan said leaving Cyprus feels like "closing a chapter".

For Padre Craven, the move is a step closer to his ultimate career ambition: to be the first space padre.

The keen science-fiction fan said: "I enjoy coming into the [RAF] because it's a very different type of ministry, and I think becoming the first space padre would enable me to do a totally different type of ministry and that is really exciting."