I never had the pleasure of meeting the gentleman - a fact that I am now so sadly aware of.
As a callow yoof in the Henty House training college some 29 years ago, I narrowly missed out on the Don Charlwood Award - with only around 14 of my student colleagues ahead of me on the exam score count-back...
I picked up a copy of his 'No Moon Tonight' on eBay a couple'a years ago now. I did so as I was interested to read of his experiences as flight crew in Bomber Command in WWII as my father was also in Bomber Command at the same time.
Dad was a Flight Engineer on Lancasters himself. He was shot down on his 18th mission and he was one of 2 survivors of the 7-man crew, with his good mates from so long ago buried together in a field just outside Hannover.
It was with those feelings that I bought No Moon Tonight, and I found it to be quite poignant reading the words of the father of my profession as he described the profession of my father.
Rest in Peace, Mr Charlwood.