I didn't expect this thread to have any steam - only to provide information. Until people have read the book, which won't be published until the end of this month, there's not much to say which wasn't said about Alan Bristow on this thread which attracted 87 posts and almost 13,000 views:
http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/371...istow-rip.html
Whether the swimming-pool story is true or apocryphal, Bristow and Bader became, and remained, friends. Both had very strong personalities so I wouldn't be surprised if there was the occasional clash. Neither was universally popular; both were respected more than they were liked.
In the autobiography, Bristow describes Bader in respectful terms and as one of his personal heroes. He says being allowed to run Shell’s helicopters was the trigger that ultimately transformed Bristow Helicopters into the world force it became.
“In a breathtakingly short period of time BHL had become a major contractor in the international oil industry, and I owed it all to Douglas Bader.”
Over the years they became friends, but Bristow remained deferential: “Not until after he had become Laurence’s Godfather did I consider we were close enough to call Douglas Bader by his first name.”
The friendship continued after Bader retired, and until his death in 1982. Shell gave Bader a Piper Apache as a retirement present which he soon found he couldn’t afford to run on his pension. Bristow hangared it and maintained it free of charge for the rest of Bader’s life.
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