EULOGY
By Catherine Connaughton & Emma TaylorRequiem Mass
Christ Church, Heald Green
8 February 2023
On behalf of Auntie Mary and Rebecca, Emma and I would like to thank you all for coming here today to celebrate the life of our wonderful Uncle David. We have the great privilege of sharing with you some special memories and moments over the last 90 years of Uncle David's life.
Uncle David was born at home in Withington in 1932 and was just 7 years old when World War II began. We suspect his love of all aircraft developed then, as his schoolbooks from that time were full of planes he’d drawn in the margins
There are many words we can use to describe Uncle David Honesty was a great trait of his. He'd been touring with friends through Austria and Belgium in his early twenties and made a list of everything they'd bought for customs What a mistake that was!!! Customs obviously thought they were trying to hide something and took their car apart, inside and out - they never found anything untoward.
Maybe that's why, in later years, Uncle David became a little more adventurous when travelling back from Ireland. You see, Uncle David liked a drop of Irish poteen, which, in case you don't know, is a powerful and illicit drink similar to moonshine. Mary's mother, our grandma, forbade poteen in the house. On more than one occasion though, Uncle David managed to 'acquire' and smuggle a few bottles through customs disguised as Gin. Even Auntie Mary didn't know what he was up to
Which leads us nicely on to marriage. Uncle David met Auntie Mary in 1959. A beautiful Irish girl, from Craggagh in Carracastle, County Mayo, who was then training to be a Midwife The handsome couple courted for five years before marrying in 1964. Next year would have been their 60th wedding anniversary.
In 1966 Uncle David became a father. There is no denying that little Rebecca was the apple of his eye, and right from the off, the two were as thick as thieves They'd get up to lots of mischief together, and that never changed. David got on so well with all of Rebecca's friends, and each has their own fond memories of the times they spent together
Aside from his family and friends, it's safe to say that one of Uncle David's true loves was flying For more than 30 years, he taught air cadets to fly gliders on Sundays as part of the then 631 Volunteer Gliding School at RAF Sealand in Flintshire, Wales. A dear friend and fellow officer, Roley Bevan, said recently, "Many pilots, including myself, have David to thank for their subsequent careers".
We were able to put together this potted history from a copy of the speech delivered by Uncle David's successor Derek Percival at his retirement function in 87. We knew very little of this as Uncle David was a very modest man
In 1953 at the age of 21, Uncle David joined the Air Training Core, and by 1954 he was carrying cadets and passengers as a Grade 1 pilot He was commissioned (made an officer) in 1959 and progressed rapidly through the instructional categories achieving an A1 Star rating in 1975. That's the highest possible category in Air Cadet gliding and one awarded to very few.
In 1970, Uncle David was appointed Chief Flying Instructor or CFI, and, in 1971, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. During his extensive and demanding tour of duty, his efforts and dedication were deservedly recognised by the Cadet Forces Medal and the prestigious Welsh Lord Lieutenant's Certificate of Merit – a laudatory honour throughout the Ministry of Defence For context, these awards supplement Honours bestowed by HM The Queen in the New Year and Birthday Honours Lists, and, in precedence, rank after such awards).
Derek went on to say in his speech: "Apart from his obvious flying skill and instructional abilities, David's application to whatever task he was presented with and his personality in his CFI role set him apart. I learned a lot from David and have based much of my approach and technique as CFI on his, as I believe it cannot be bettered "
As children, we had many lovely parties at 59 Queensway, where clearly the flight theme continued as Catherine and I loved playing the role of the air hostesses, wheeling Auntie Mary's hostess trolley around the dining room, serving pretend food and drinks to our 'customers' who were always so willing to play along We also were ever-so-slightly mischievous as we would hide under the table, tying Uncle David's shoelaces together whilst the grown-ups chatted, seemingly oblivious to the cheeky goings-on below deck, although I suspect Uncle David knew exactly what we were doing and played along with the fun anyway!
Just before Christmas, we had the most wonderful party celebrating Uncle David's 90 birthday What a day!!! He was surrounded by family and friends, even meeting his newest great-great nephew Rafferty, and rounded off the evening with a good old Irish sing-song!
We will all have our own special memories of Uncle David, his calm manner, trusting nature, and willingness to help anyone in need. The clear theme that has come across in all the cards, letters, texts and phone calls to Auntie Mary and Rebecca these past few weeks is that Uncle David was a true gentleman, one of the very best, and we will all miss him greatly
There is a well-known saying in the RAF when paying respects to one of their own, and it seems fitting to say this today,
Uncle David, 'it's time now to fold your wings'. Rest in peace, Uncle David.
