Obituaries

I have received the following notification of the death of John Pritchard. I am sure all members would wish to join me in offering our sincere condolences to the family.

John Pritchard, an ardent researcher into the much neglected world of the RAF Marine Craft units and former member of your organisation passed away at Withybush Hospital on March 21st, aged 86.
Readers may remember his immensely respected RAF Air Sea Rescue launch articles which featured in Model Boats, Yachting Monthly and several other magazines from June 1975 to April 1989 illustrated with photos, accounts of rescues, and invariably accompanied by hand drawn plans. Much of the background information and detail was provided by your club membership.
His plans I believe are still available from Model Boats Plans Service and I have recently seen features about models on the internet acknowledging their usefulness.
We well remember our father with his drawing board perched on the bannister of our then home in Therfield, Hertfordshire as he meticulously draughted his masterpieces, often relying on photos from numerous correspondents to get them just right.
John gained his wings with the RAF but found his services no longer required and kicked his heels briefly in the control tower of Carew Cheriton until that station closed and he was allowed to move to the RAF Marine Craft Units from Sept 1946. Briefly serving at the very overcrowded Gosport MCU (1102) he was then moved onto MCU 1111 at Lyme Regis. Then followed a strange sequence of postings in 1947, as the powers that be, struggled with what to do with this LAC. He travelled variously to Port Fouad, Ishmailia, El Hamra and Fanara (in the Canal Zone) and Ein Shemeir (Palestine- aerial lifeboats!), before returning to Gosport where he was at last allowed to retrain as a Teacher. His links with the RAF continued in the 1960s with a 5 year stint in Takoradi, Ghana as deputy then Headmaster of the Combined Services Primary School teaching children of the Air Force and Naval Training Mission based there. His research into RAF/MC history paralleled the time that he served as Headmaster of the Roger de Clare First School at Standon/Puckeridge in Hertfordshire.1970 -1988.
On retiring he moved to Pembrokeshire, firstly living in Milford Haven then for the last 15 years at Freshwater East .
For any that remember him and may well have corresponded with him our thanks for assisting in his research.
He will be cremated at Narbeth Crematorium on 22nd April.
Family flowers only. Any donations if desired to Tenby RNLI (where his involvement with boats first started).
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of the whole family,
Bob Pritchard.

“Lest we Forget”