I shall never forget my first day on watch back at West Drayton in 1991.

Having to meet over a hundred people and trying to remember all their names and who did what. It was like going to a new school but multiply that by a thousand, it was overwhelming. You approached me at the end of the shift and you had a quick word with me. You reassured me that although live training was daunting, hard work and perseverance was the name of the game. Our conversation has stayed with me ever since and I can’t believe we did three decades on the same watch. Although we didn’t work the same sectors, one of our sectors did abut and it was always reassuring to hear your voice on the end of the telephone. Especially when things were not going to plan and it was all hands to the pumps.

I amongst many fellow watch controllers are indebted to you volunteering to be the Watch Leave Coordinator. A task that would over the years become more arduous as controller numbers declined and sectors increased. I remember asking you WHY do it, it could only give you grief. You winked at me and said it had its advantages, especially when it came to your out of work activities! Music and theatre. Got it.

At work you never seemed to have a break. You were not only busy with watch life but so involved with your flying and musical activities. I remember calling you a Time Lord, you responded in a perplexed manner. Well I said, a Time Lord can travel in and manipulate time, because how on earth do you manage to cram so much into one day. Having laughed it off you simply replied, “thats just in my DNA”.

Well my friend its a damn good job it was in your DNA because you gave so much to so many people. With a life cut so short, you lived life to the max. A message to us all that life is for living and Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

A true legend

Sleep well my friend 

Carl