Eddie Melia
 

Those of you who knew Eddie may not have learned that he died suddenly last night (13/11/01) in Dubai.
I was on shift with Eddie at both MAEL Manchester and EK in DXB in the 90s. It is fair to say Eddie enjoyed life!
My condolences to his family.
Eddie, I'm sure you've got a beer on the bar at Big G's local right now! RIP.

[ 14 November 2001: Message edited by: Bus429 ]

Bus,
Very sad news,words cannot convey how I feel at the moment,he did enjoy life,and I will certainly reflect over a beer tonight over some of the things he got up to.
E mail if you have anymore details.

I only met Eddie once, through a mutual friend whilst I was on relief in DXB, went round his place made to feel very welcome had a few beers and a nice night out in town. He was one of the genuine nice guys, condolences to all his family. :(

I knew Eddie well, worked with him for several yrs at Monarch,had some very good times. Very sad to hear this news. Eddie was a man who knew how to have a good time, its fare to say he enjoyed life to the full, just a shame it was so short. My thoughts are with you Eddie.

Worked with Eddie at Man line for quite a few years. Who was a good friend and neighbour. Such a sad loss. RIP[/B]

. . . Came as a huge shock to all of here in DXB, bolt out of the blue. Eddie always had an open heart, an open house and an open beer for all that passed his way. One of life's real characters. God bless you Eddie, where ever you might be now ! :(

Eddie was a great guy, a superb engineer and pilot, and a very good friend. He will be sorely missed by all of us. God bless you, mate.

Eddie was a great guy who loved life and knew how to party.Condolences to all his family.Have a beer for me at Big G's.

Bus429 Please confirm whether you are referring to Ed J ex Brunei.Thankyou.

Lockstitch - Eddie Melia as per "Topic".

Ed J is in the ME still, I believe.

Eddie was a fixture at the beach in CBV. A lovely guy, great company - we will all miss him a lot.

Any memorial sevice or wake planned?

I had the pleasure of working with Eddie for a number of years at British Aerospace, he was a great lad and the sad news of his sudden death will come as a great shock to his many friends in the UK. God Bless you Eddie.

I once taught Eddie the 737-300, when we were both at MAEL, that was back in the mid- eighties. It was a time when Kissagrams were the trendy way to pay-back an instructor for all the nasty questions he would put in the end of course exams. Eddie organised for a Preggy-Gram..... Eddie really caught me out with that one, it was the first time in my life I found myself truly speachless. The second time I found myself in that same position was last Wednesday when the news of his death filtered through to me.
The world is going to be a quieter place from now on and it's going to be hard for us all to get used to that.

Eddie was one of those best mates, but then he was a best mate to so many who knew him.
I feel privileged to have known him for the past 10yrs.
It's my round when I see you next, mate!

A dear friend and colleague who was always cheerful and enjoyed life to the fullest. Will be sadly missed by all his friends and colleagues.
Rest in peace.

Philking,

Eddie arranged a Fat-o-Gram (in the Romper) for me and an antipodean friend when we left MAEL for EK (he was still at MAEL). I've got the pictures somewhere.
Did you know the Eddie always had trouble getting shirts to fit? As you know, the gap between his chest and head was very small. He had to put up with very long sleeves just to get a collar to fit! While we're reminiscing, I remember a water fight we had while on shift in 1990 in Manchester. You will all be familiar with the white boards we use to monitor based aircraft movements and maintenance requirements. The secretary had just finished writing it up and it was a multi-coloured beauty. For some reason we were all having a ruck and Eddie filled a tea pot with water. He aimed for me but I happened to be standing in front of the above mentioned board. He chucked, I ducked, and the board was...well, mucked! We were well and truly for it.
It was vintage Ed! ;)
I hope the above does not seem inappropriate. I suspect Eddie would not have minded.

Bus
I don't think Eddie would mind at all in fact talking about some of his exploits is the sort of thing he would have wanted.If all of his friends got together we could probably write a book about some of the things we got up to while in the company of him.He wasn't called Maddog Melia for nothing,although I don't think my missus would be too impressed.I did a number of courses with Eddie while working for Monarch and even rented a room in his house for a while.

I only had the pleasure of working with Eddie for the last 3 years, the humour he brought to the shift was unique & he was responsible for numerous hangover's. You're irreplaceable Eddie, it's not the same without you. God Bless

Where to start with regards to Eddie…. I knew him for about 7 years in Dubai and have learnt that if you ever meet anyone in the airline world and say “do you know Eddie?”, a big smile will grow on the other person’s face and they’ll nod knowingly. He was an absolute star and all round fabulous bloke – no party really started until Eddie turned up.
I was fortunate to have worked with him and been out on many nights with Eddie, and the best of all, was on a trip to Brussels, where I didn’t stop crying with laughter the whole time.
Eddie, you’ll be sorely missed.
My sympathies go to all his friends and family.

I don't know about you guys, I've been to staff travel & booked my ticket to MAN. Eddie, I'm going to be there to say goodbye the old fashioned way, then I'll be in DXB for the memorial...... 'cos that's going to be one hell of a party, just the way you would have wanted it.