View Full Version : Squadron Leader Neville Duke, DSO, OBE, DFC**, AFC
Heliport
11th Apr 2007, 02:10
More HERE (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=271449)
Heliport
13th Apr 2007, 07:33
Obituary in today's Daily Telegraph.
LINK (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/13/db1302.xml)
airborne_artist
13th Apr 2007, 08:37
from the Telegraph obituary:
"The AOC instructed that Duke was to finish his third tour after completing 486 operational sorties. He had destroyed 27 enemy aircraft, and probably three more, making him the RAF's outstanding and highest-scoring fighter pilot in the Mediterranean theatre. He was 22 years old and at the end of October he returned to England after an absence of three years.
Tell that to the Tehran 15.
Roland Pulfrew
13th Apr 2007, 10:28
Heliport
Thanks for posting the link, you beat me to it. I read the obit at breakfast this morning. Now this gentleman is an example of hero and fully deserving of the medals awarded. Anyone who suggests that the RN15 were heroes who deserve medals showed be forced to read this.
flying brain
13th Apr 2007, 16:37
Airborne Artist
You say it all in a few lines
Tehran 15 allegedly generate over 150k for a headline story while in the employ of the UK taxpayer.
Neville Duke, who paid tax all his life and risked his life hunreds of time for his country, was forced to sell his medals in 2005 to raise money for his wife's hip operation because the NHS had a 15 month backlog and her pain was unbearable.
It is upside down.
airborne_artist
13th Apr 2007, 17:03
Flying Brain - but luckily it's not all about money. Neville Duke can look down from his comfy cloud certain that he did his bit and maintained his pride and dignity.
Wobbler Fang
15th Apr 2007, 20:39
I had the great good fortune, indeed priviledge, to interview and record details about various ascpects of his life from Neville Duke on a number of occassions. Despite being a very busy man, he always found time to answer questions, and did so with quiet humour and great dignity, not to metion a charming self-effacement about when things went wrong! For me, he was the epitome of a gentleman, and will be sadly missed.
PPRuNe Pop
16th Apr 2007, 02:15
Please refer to the thread on AH&N.
PPP
Heliport
8th Aug 2007, 21:25
PPRuNe has been informed that the Memorial Service for Sqn Ldr Duke will be held:
Date : Thursday 11 October Time : 1200Venue : RAF St Clement Danes, Strand, London WC2
We don't yet know if it will be open or tickets only.
Further details will be posted when they become available.
Heliport
17th Sep 2007, 08:51
We've now been told the Memorial Service is open to all.
No tickets required.
The Address will be given by ACM Sir Michael Graydon, former Hunter pilot, CAS 1992-1997 and a Liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators.
Bob the Doc
9th Oct 2007, 15:04
Flying Brain
If you read the obit, you will see that it mentions the hip replacement story but claims that the true reason for the sale was because he kept on getting burgled and wanted the medals (that were too expensive to insure) kept together