.
Lloyd was a wonderful character and someone for whom I had an appreciable amount of time.
We served together in PNG in 1989 when he joined Hevilift and was assigned to the contract I was on, a four month long seismic affair based out of the irreverently named 'Morehead' located in the Western (Fly) Province.
We cultivated many memorable moments during what was an intense contract working one-day rotations with a crew of 6 pilots and 2 mechanics utilising 3 aircraft which flew up to 11 hours per day. Lloyd and I shared the same aircraft during one of his month-long tours while I remained on station.
When I left Hevilift at the end of '89 having been 'seduced' by their competition, and prior to returning to Italy on leave, I passed via Sydney where I checked myself in to a fancy hotel somewhere downtown near the harbour. I called up Lloyd who, within what seemed like minutes, appeared in the hotel lobby complaining like 'f*ck' (as he would often exclaim) about my decision to spend hundreds of dollars at the five-star inn. He wouldn't hear of it and insisted on taking me to his home in the burbs but, not before we had spent a night in the city.
Almost directly opposite the hotel was a well known pub where we enjoyed a 'slighty' boozy evening ending up in the company of some rather pleasant people.
In the morning he drove me to his house where he served-up a phenomenal breakfast followed by lunch not long thereafter at a restaurant near his home and which was located on the edge of a small lake.
The following day he was on duty with the NSW Police where he freelanced and, together with his observer, exposed me to the Sydney-by-air experience.
A wonderfully down-to-earth, congenial and thoroughly pleasant chap who, I am sure, shall be sorely missed.
Safe journey dear friend.
S.