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ISSN 0262-Art Editor
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Alison SandersFollow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ ypastof cialWelcome
‘I
n this world, nothing can be said to be certain
except death and taxes’, Benjamin Franklin
remarked to his friend, the renowned physicist
Jean-Baptiste Leroy in 1789. Well known though
this quotation is, its sentiment was rather suddenly
brought home to me with one of our recent We
Salute You columns.
Readers may recall the name in our January issue of Sqn Ldr Noel J J
Dunningham, known to all and sundry as ‘Red’, a nickname dating back
to his RAF days when he had bright red hair. I had the great pleasure, and
honour, of interviewing Noel in August for an article about his life and
ying career at his home in Red Lodge, Suffolk, spending a fascinating
few hours in his company as he regaled me with tales of ying in Victors,
Meteors, Canberras, and other wonderful aircraft. Sadly, Noel passed away
in October at the age of 96.
Until August, no one had considered getting the details of his life down in
print – or any other kind of record. He would have passed away with those
precious memories lost forever, but for his humorous letters to FlyPast about
the merits of the Victor that brought him to my notice.
To stress how important it is to record the lives of these men, you will see
in this issue that the RAF 100 artwork is of a 149 Squadron Short Stirling
in which Sgt Pat Cooper was a gunner. The very fact that Pat had an RAF
career only came to light by accident when he recently died, and his wife
discovered his logbook. He never spoke about his time in the RAF, and had
he not retained this one memento of his ying career his place in history
would also have passed into the ether.
With the kind help of the 149 Squadron Association, records of his
wartime missions were pieced together to discover he’d own in a
surprising number of ‘ops’. I hope this artwork represents a suitable
commemoration to him and the many like him who have died with their
stories untold.
If you know someone who has served, in any military service not just
the RAF, then why not talk to them and see if they are willing to put some
memories down on paper or to tape. It is so vitally important we preserve
the achievements of these great people – not only for our generation but
those of the future, for all to appreciate.
To nish, I’ll share my last view of Noel. Making a point to escort me to
his front door, despite using walking sticks, he said: “I’m in the departure
lounge now, you know, but I don’t think it’s all that bad, and boy, I had one
hell of a lot of fun getting here.” Blue skies Noel.Chris Gilson
EditorGroup Editor
Nigel PriceDeputy Editor
Steve BeebeeBelow
English Electric Canberra PR.7 WT509 of 31 Squadron.
Sqn Ldr Noel Dunningham regarded his time on the unit
as one of the highlig hts of his career. KEY COLLECTION