RAF Waddington more or less came to standstill today between 1050 & 1105 and the Reds took time out from their training programme at Scampton around the same to show respect to the fallen. Cranwell, on the other hand, decided to fly on regardless throughout the traditional two minute silence. Shame. On the same level as the woman in the black coat in Westminster garden who, about 15 seconds into the two minute silence, pulled out her smart phone to film those around her. No respect, no sense, not a clue.

Having trained with Dave Williams I have often wondered how his family were faring since losing him.
Glad to see they're doing ok and have formed these bonds with the other families.
His eldest looks like a fine young man I'm sure Dave would have been proud of. Especially since he seems to take after his mother!

Tankertrashnav

As soon as I read the original I knew that you or Courtney Mil would be onto it like a flash. You did not let me down :D

Every November there is a little piece of me that cries for those that we have lost. For me, some of it is personal, as it is for others. But we do it. We stand there and we honour our (lost) friends.

And inside us, a little piece of us is screaming . So we stand there, at Attention, as we hear the Last Post played; some of us hold the Salute until Reveille is played (and we try not to cry).

Then we turn and we march away to survive another year. We don't forget our lost friends, we place them somewhere safe such that we don't fall apart and such that they KNOW we won't fall apart. THAT's how we care for them, THAT'S how we keep them alive.

In one of the early posts on this Thread, I said that I was trying to get the name of a Master Pilot, killed on a sea survival course, added to the Armed Forces Memorial at Alrewas.

Although it took some time whilst the facets were checked and decisions arrived at, I am pleased to say that the name of Master Pilot G D Howarth will be added to the memorial in due course. The only downside is that I have been unable to find any pointers to his family and their whereabouts, although I have located his place of birth and location and date of marriage but there the trail goes cold.

Old Duffer

Lest We Forget
 

Please allow me a moment of reflection.

The words that follow were penned by a good man, a top man, my best man. Sadly he is no longer with us, taken too soon like many others. There but for the grace of God go I and the countless many that were lucky to have had a narrow escape (or two) along the way thanks to Martin Baker.

Until we soar again:

Ewan Murdoch
Martin Ramsay
Paul Gay
Mark Hanna
Mike Thompson
Guy Bancroft-Wilson
Dave Frost
Leigh Fox
Neil McClaghllan
John Sewell
Byron Clew
CJ Weightman
Mike Auckland
Graham Wardle
Falcon Eddie
Trevor Roche
Mike Harland
Dave Stock
Mike Sears



He’s gone, that friend of mine,
His smile, his face, his joy of living.
Never more to sit on my wing,
To soar the heights totally free.

He’s gone, his life spent
In one brilliant, beautiful, burst of light.
No pain, no thoughts, just darkness.
His life glorious to the end.

His cheeky arrogance still rings in our ears,
His voice is still in our conversation.
We talk, we relive, he has not gone.
He listens now and smiles.

We will not let him go,
He lives on in our hearts and in our souls,
And we wait patiently for the day,
The day when once more we can soar together, totally free.




Once you’ve gotten that bit of dust out of your eye, please feel free to add a comment with your own names of those you’ve lost doing the job we love

Fred Skeets
Dave Stead
Andrew Smith
Paul Pardoel
Gary Nicholson
Mark Gibson
Patrick Marshall
Richard Brown
Bob O'Connor
David Williams
Steven Jones
Andy Marshall
Gavin Richardson
Joe Berry

Sam Smith
Jack Canham ,DFC,Pathfinder
Bert Fraser,-still MIA

Doug Stein
Chris Rounce
Chris Meade
Dick Mott
Ian Johnson
Mark Hanna
Jack Thompson
Ian Redwood
Mike Barnard
Bill Green
Neil Anderson
Nigel Elsdon
Max Collier
Gary Lennox
Kev Weeks
Steve Hicks
Hylton Price
Patrick Marshall

Great minds think alike
 

https://www.pprune.org/military-avia...-fallen-3.html

This is my own thread from a few years back, along the same lines.

Sadly there are more names to add:

Sqn Ldr Andy Bull
Sqn Ldr Nic de Candole
Sqn Ldr Phil McConell
Captain Tom McQueen
Mzm Suleiman al Balushi
Cpl Jonathan Bayliss

BV

Andy George

Seen on the internet recently.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b04683196.jpeg

Engines, one of those occasions I wish we had a ‘like’ or ‘care’ facility.

Not strictly an RAF Tornado loss I guess, but not forgetting OLt Peter Castner, Sqn Ldr Bernie Towl, TTTE, 17th June 86, Claerwen, Wales.

Al Riley
Chris Lackman
Jerry Ogg

Tom Wilbourne

Thread Drift Alert
 

The memorial shown above says that Kieran Duffy and Norman Dent died on Masirah, Oman. I always understood their accident to have happened in Saudi. Can anyone confirm or deny which is correct please?

BV

BV.

Sortie was due to land at Masirah for a turn, but crashed en route. Seem to recall crash site was in Oman, but not at, or close to, Masirah (was on loan service there at the time)

Sad day as knew Duff well from Linton-good lad.

S

Tornado GR1 ZD718 accident was 140 miles west of Masirah - steep turn at very low level 4 days before the start of the Op DESERT STORM Air Campaign.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/55434

Drift complete
 

Thanks everyone.

BV

As my late Pa used to say -"Never fly below half your wingspan".

Nick Taylor
John E-J
Al Curtis
Gordie Batt

All still on CAP down south.

Mog

Interesting. Greg Hurst's crash (Jan 99), actually a mid-air collision, was in a TTTE jet. We were both instructors there at the time. I was one of his pall-bearers. RiP m8.

Wasn't it John Towl? Again, I was there at the time. Student pilot aborted from low level in poor weather, got the recovery wrong leaving the burners in and became disoriented. John ejected them but was outside seat limits.

Perhaps it's only RAF jets on the poster.

Sadly my list is long, with many of the names already posted here so I will not repeat them. But there are some others, very close to home, who will never be forgotten and who constantly remind me of my own mortality:

Bill Graham
Tony White ('Big T')
Hoof Proudfoot
Alex Parr

Rest In Peace

Could well have been, it was a long time ago! IIRC he was known as Bernie around the Groundschool when he was an Instructor and was on his Conversion Course on A Sqn.

In addition to others already mentioned........

Jeremy Hall
Steve Wakely
Andy Bloxham
Jim Downey
John Roberts
Keith Holland
Brian Weatherley
Paul Adams

Brendan Kaye
Jim Lanfranchi

Amazing to see the names; students, passing acquaintances from various pubs, and so on. One in the latest with whom I shared a soccer tour in Cyprus from Muharraq for example, all bring memories. Yesterday my wife bumped into a squadron crash survivor from 1972, a regular sharer of coffee and cake when not in lockdown. From this encounter I give you a colleague from two squadrons -

Brian Bastable

I remember on Ground School being told by our instructor
" Laugh, but look around. In a few years 10% of you will no longer be wth us..
That Class included Peter Stacey and Nigel Elsdon........

Should our new-found freedom allow travel to Salisbury, Elsdon remembered in lovely Saint Thomas church, with decent breakfast in cafe opposite.

A few more
 

Keith Holland
Bruce Cogram
Lawrence Warner
Tom Bayliff
Nigel Storah
John Carver
Greg Lane USN
Dave Sunderland
Berndan Hearney
Dave Haward
Paul Gunnell
Ken Hayr

We will remember them

Let me add to the list.........

Mark Hare

A couple from my past

Arthur Mitchell
Chris Taylor
Dick Langworthy
Brian Jopling

And all from my ex RAFG Sqn who I knew

Dave Critchley
Mark (Jara) Jaroszynski
Dick Wharmby
Ron Sedlickas
Eddie Miskelly
Bill Cunningham
David Cousins
Mike Scouse Brown
John Temple
Terry (Gus) Angus


And those from this forum who are no longer with us from

CoffmanStarter through to Danny42c

gone but not forgotten.



​​​​​​…

CoffmanStarter through to Danny42c - Very thoughtful additions to the list of the unforgotten, NutLoose.

- Ed

Thanks, I would like to add Cliffnemo (Clifford Leach) I am unsure if he is no longer with us or if anyone knows, but he started the gaining pilots wings during ww2 thread, he stopped posting and ceased posting on the site below in 2012, it would be a tradgedy if his passing wasn’t remarked on here as he was an inspiration.

View Profile: cliffnemo - RAFCommands Forums

On this day
 

Flt Lt Fiona Johnstone PMRAFNS, Master Aircrew Peter Barwell AFC, Cpl Martin Cook PMRAFNS.
Not forgotten

A smile slowly came across my face as I remembered and reminisced. Fellow Wassers Dave Cousins and John Temple, FLMs Jara and Scouse, and Gus Angus, et al. I spent three of my happiest years with these guys. RIP

I will add Bernie Worthington who was on the Nimrod in Canada. We shared a room at Brawdy.