Ray had been invited to a small get-together for current and ex team and friends last night, so it was an evening tinged with sadness.
I never had the privilege of being lead by Ray - he was 'before my time', but without any disrespect to the excellent leaders who followed him, it is right to say that the team would not be what it is today without the leadership, persistence and effort he put into it in his time. Much of the team 'language' and tradition came from him.
I did manage two 'back-seat' rides under his leadership, and the 'eclat' as the team crest has it was totally evident. The same skills and personal styles which I have always likened to those of a master painter or musician - you could tell instantly when you saw a Spit, Mustang or whatever, whether or not it was Ray.
I have told this story on a previous thread about him, but in the 70's I was standing next to an aviation insurance broker involved with the Spit while Ray did a 'private' display in it at Kemble. We all knew most of the dips and hollows around Kemble, but when Ray completely disappeared - prop disc and all - at the bottom of a loop, I turned to David and said "Well, does that give you any anxious moments" to which he replied "Not if it is Ray".
Nuff said.