Sqn Ldr Neville Duke DSO DFC** AFC OBE RIP
Heard last night that Sqn Ldr Neville Duke DSO DFC** AFC OBE had died at the age of 85 having just landed with his wife at Popham.
He was one of the greats of aviation and a lovely man. To my generation he was the ideal boyhood hero and his runs across Farnborough in the red Hunter WB188 in the 1950's were never to be forgotten. As well as collecting gongs throughout the war he was also a Test Pilot at Hawkers and responsible for the Hunter holding the world's air speed record at 727mph.
One wit remarked that Neville had so many bars it looked as if he had riveted his medals to his chest. Perhaps a comment on the TV last night from someone who used to organise aviation events sums him up best. He described how he would invite Neville to an event and search frantically for him just before it opened. Instead of taking his place on the stage, he would be found sitting in the back row of the audience.