Fred Starkey (RAF Navigator)

[meadowbank]

A long shot, but did anyone out there in Ppruneland know a RAF navigator called Fred Starkey?
His types flown include Shackleton, P-2V Neptune, Canberra (PR) and Dominie, based variously at Topcliffe, Ballykelly, Akrotiri and Singapore.

[Barksdale Boy]

Yes, he was a compasses instructor at 1 ANS Stradishall in 1966.

[Tengah Type]

Fred was a Navigator/Plotter on 45 Sqn flying Canberra B15s at Tengah during my
tour 1963 to 1965.

[Brian 48nav]

As Barksdale Boy said, Fred was an instructor at 1ANS, in my case early '67.

In the late 70s I saw him from a distance at LATCC West Drayton and assumed he was by then in GD/Ground branch as either an ATCO or Fighter Controller.

In the late 90s I was at a party at a friend's house in my village in Somerset and met Fred's daughter, who was working then for my friend in his advertising agency in Bath. Fred was 'still on the perch' then.

He is named in an old Retired List that I have - born 1931, Flt Lt 1957, retired from GD (G) 1978.

[rlsbutler]

Further to TengahType at #3, I flew with Fred in July 1964. He (figuratively !) held my hand during a shortish day-into-night pilot's benefit trip. I assume that was nice of him - an old hand like him could easily have left such a trip to a younger nav.

[NickB]

His age and paper quoting him as a pilot don't tally, so hopefully this is a different Fred Starkey - still a sad story though...

http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/158377/former-raf-pilot-from-pantymwyn-hit-by-driver-with-unknown-condition.aspx

[Brian 48nav]

As a matter of interest, why did you make the enquiry re Fred Starkey?

[rlsbutler]

re NickB at #6, his Frederick Starkey is reportedly ten years older than ours (see Brian48 at #4). Nor do I recognise the photo. It would not of course be unusual for a provincial reporter to be careless about the distinction between nav and pilot.

If anybody else had trouble using NickB's link, the answer for me was to right-click it, "copy link location" to Word, trim off the first "http://" and copy it again as a website address.

[NickB]

Thanks Risbutler - I've edited the link and seems to be working fine. :ok:

[meadowbank]

As a matter of interest, why did you make the enquiry re Fred Starkey?

He has joined a coffee morning in my Bedfordshire village and I thought it might be nice to find some old friends. It seems there may be more than 1 Fred Starkey, but this one is very much alive and left the RAF in 1978, the year I started my pilot training on the JP3 at Linton. And, just to confirm, he WAS a navigator.

[Brian 48nav]

Thanks Meadowbank - I asked because sometimes the OP is trying to locate the individual or even worse report their demise.

Sounds like 'your' Fred Starkey is the the nav' several of us referred to above. Incidentally I have just located a photograph of him in The History of 73 Squadron, Part 3 - it is of a fellow nav's wedding in Akrotiri.

He won't remember me but would you mind passing on one of his former student's best wishes?