CJ, I too benefitted from his 'looking after'. Having submitted my PVR, because I wanted to continue flying but the RAF had other plans for me, I was summoned to MOD's Adastral House for an interview. At the appropriate time I was ushered into an office there, only to be confronted by (now) Gp Capt Parfitt! He had seen my letter go across his desk (his remit now though being the careers of Wg Cdrs and above), stopped it, and demanded to see me. Was I going out under some cloud or other? "No Sir, I just want to go on flying". Could I wait for some 18 months or so for a Golden Bowler scheme that was in the offing? Quick bit of thinking required there as I now had a civvy licence that only required the addition of an Instrument Rating, and I was still in current flying practice. " Thank you Sir, but I feel I have rather burned my bridges and should just leave now, if I am allowed to". Don't worry about that, I'll see it happens. And so it did, the timing being such that I had barely left when a mutual friend said there was a 1-11 co-pilot job going if I turned up next day at Luton with my log book. I did so of course. If I had delayed more it would have been a different story entirely with few if any jobs available. Thanks to the care of a good (ex) boss, and some luck, my civvy career kept me in flying through to my retirement.
48 years ago for me but, as you say, still fresh in my mind too.