I'm the brother of Ernie's widow. The family will hold a private event to remember him, but I believe his friends at the gliding club (DSGC) are planning a more open commemoration.
Ernie met his wife via Bristows when she was laundering flying suits at Sumburgh. That's enough glamour for now. Another Beesley sister (no. 5) went to live in Shetland, and via Bristows, airports and the rest, she married a local bloke who worked on the rigs. Thus the family has a strong attachment to Shetland -- emotionally and by blood.
For convenience or whatever, Ernie married my sister (no. 2) alongside sister (no. 4) at the Blackpool Registry Office, so it was a double wedding. There were long waits, sufficient for all of the photographers to diminish the background of the happy couple photos; across the road, a business defiantly proclaimed SEX SHOP.
I often disagreed with Ernie but I always liked him.