Obituary

AMRAeS 1937-2020

Carl was born on 3 April 1937 in York. After an apprenticeship as an electrician, he decided to pursue a career in avionics in the RAF. His first posting was to RAF Leeming, followed by a detachment to Aden during the Aden Emergency and a posting to RAF Conningsby during which, on a home visit, he met his future wife, Marie. They were married in 1964.

​The next posting for the couple was Gütersloh where their son, Rodger, was born and then RAF Sealand where their second son, Adrian, was born.

Carl completed his 22 years in the RAF at Sealand on declining a posting to Lossiemouth to avoid unsettling the family in Chester. However, the week after handing in his uniform, he was back at his workbench as an MoD civilian. As such, he was awarded the Air Officer Commanding’s Commendation in recognition of his work which included the annual calibration of the flight instruments for the BBMF. By this time he was one of the very few able to service the pre-electronic instruments.

Carl became a member of the Chester Branch of the Society in 1978 and served on the Committee from 1982 to 2018, as Secretary from 1990, Vice Chairman from 2002 and Chairman from 2004 until he retired in 2018 as a result of his deteriorating health. In 2020 he was proud to accept nomination as Branch President. His contribution to the Branch was enormous. During that time he was heavily involved in the organising of three Branches’ Conferences and two North West Forums.

Carl’s love of all things aeronautical was boundless. He was an active member of the Clwyd Aviation Group, worked towards the establishment of a museum at Sealand and was involved in too many other aviation activities to mention.

He will be sadly missed by Marie and his family, as well as the Chester Branch.