Sadly, I have heard this morning of the death of Capt. Vic Hodgkinson,
who died in his sleep on the 20th. at the age of 94: Vic was the last of our BOAC FB Captains
that served at Poole, and will be fondly remembered for being the leading light in the setting
up of Solent Sky Museum, and for the acquisition of the Southern Cross as its prime exhibit
- which was then renamed again Beachcomber, as it appears today…
Vic trained prewar out in Australia with various aircrews of the Qantas Empire C-Class FBs
and during WW2 served with distinction on RAAF 10 Squadron on Sunderland Flying Boats
at RAF Mount Batten and Pembroke Dock etc. (and later on Catalinas in the Pacific arena).