OBITUARY WARTIME PILOT AN ACE IN EVERY PURSUIT
IAN HENRY DENVER 1923-2017
HE was a high-flying war hero and the only thing which soared taller than Ian Henry Denver’s true tales of adventure was his passion for life.
Mr Denver passed away on November 28 with his beloved daughters Mary and Louise as well as his devoted carer Jean Roe by his side.
Although he retired to the Gold Coast with his late wife Patricia, living in both Coolangatta and Robina, Mr Denver’s colourful story began elsewhere.
The Sydney-born Mr Denver was only 18 when duty called during WWII and he enlisted in the RAAF where he became a “Bomber Boy” piloting the Lancasters.
At the tender age of 22 he became an Acting Squadron Leader which, prior to his death, saw him become the last surviving skipper of the legendary 156 Squadron of Pathfinders, Bomber Command. He completed 60 missions bringing all his crew home safely despite the overwhelming odds and for dedication he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar.
However, it wasn’t all midair heroics with a cheeky Mr Denver making time for other pursuits during his war service.
Perhaps foreshadowing his eventual retirement to the Gold Coast, during his early pilot training in England he and his very close mates, Ron Taubman from Maitland and Geoff Jones from Pymble, took a novel approach to building up their flying hours.
They heard there was a decent swell in a place called Cornwall, so they signed out the Gypsy Moth and flew south, landed in a paddock and raced into the water shouting, “Surfs up!” …… and promptly raced right back out again – with a bit more than just frozen knees. Clockwise from above: Ian Henry Denver marrying his wife Patricia in 1945; with daughter Louise; with his family; and with his squadron in World War II. Main picture: Sheryn Ellis
No service to the nation would be complete without a great war time romance.
In 1945 he married Patricia Esme Goode, an English Intelligence Officer in Bomber Command, who would become his wife of 70 years.
The Aussie flyer attracted her away from a number of Royal Air Force officers and an Irish squire, all about to propose.
Both Mr and Mrs Denver’s service was recognised when they were personally honoured by the Queen and Prince Charles at the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park in 2012.
The year after the war ended, Mr Denver continued with his love of aviation, becoming the youngest international captain at Qantas.
Becoming a master navigator as well as pilot, Ian was both highly skilled and highly regarded before he joined Caltex International Oil Company in 1954 to head up its aviation arm as an oil exploration pilot in Jakarta.
Taking his young family along for the ride, Mr Denver spent the ’50s flying into the Sumatran jungle oil camps where tigers were kept away by bonfires and giant treehugging pythons emerged to block the Caltex jeeps on the rainforest mud tracks.
Later he was posted to Bahrain where he began a new era as head of refinery training and development. He then went on to Caltex head office in New York.
He finally retired in 2001 after a stellar career as an international executive, helping the transition of Caltex refineries in Japan, at age 78.
Mr Denver is survived by his daughters Mary and Louise, his son David, his five grandchildren, Robin, Sophia, Briony, Patrick and Uilleam and three great-grandchildren, Noemi, Leila and Orlando.
Terry Gilltrap and Mayor Ald Denis O’Connell in Surfers Paradise after Terry had just completed a successful run in an historic Cairns to Brisbane marathon run in this vintage fire truck.