When John joined the Angel Flight team on 7th April he was continuing a lifetime association with planes.
When John joined the Angel Flight team on 7th April he was continuing a lifetime association with planes.
Born into a working class family in north London, John was strongly influenced by an Uncle who had been a Royal Air Force [RAF] pilot during World War II. This influence extended to him joining the RAF Cadet Force at school, which held regular summer camps. During these camps John took full advantage of the opportunity to fly around the countryside in Chipmunk and Tiger Moth aircraft, and this is where he caught the ‘flying’ bug. It was during this time that he also took up gliding and received his ‘Gliding Wings” which was an enormous thrill and sense of achievement.
Whilst growing up in London John also developed a love for the countryside during family camping holidays - a complete contrast to the streets of London where he lived. Very quickly he began to see that the Royal Air Force would not only give him the opportunity to continue his love affair with planes but also to get out of the city. Underlying these youthful aspirations was also a deep desire to join a ‘public service’ as he had always felt an affinity with services such as the police and fire brigades but didn’t fully understand why.
“Whenever there was a major disaster we were involved. In 1982/83 the firemen in the UK went on strike so we became fireman. This added so my sense of being of service to the community.”
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After leaving school and before joining the Royal Air Force at age 19, John worked for about 6 months for the well-known London Department Store, Harrods, following in the footsteps of his mother and brother. Although his heart was set on becoming a pilot or navigator, this wasn’t to be, as the RAF recognised his aptitude for logistics and it was in the field of Air Movements and aircraft support that John was able to serve his country for 25 years, eventually leaving the RAF in 1993 as a Squadron Leader.
Whilst John’s boyhood dream to be a pilot didn’t come true, his role with the RAF provided him with ample opportunity to be in the air and also helped to satisfy his desire to serve.
During his RAF service John served in the UK, Germany, the Falklands, Iraq, Turkey and Cyprus. It was in Cyprus that he met Julia, an RAF Air Traffic Controller, when she kicked sand in his face on the beach. She was later to become his wife.
On leaving the RAF John and Julia came to Australia choosing to live close to Bribie Island because it was the first sandy beach north of Brisbane. John and Julia now love nothing better than living in this beautiful environment and walking their dogs on the beach.