MISSING . . .
CALLING all early members of the British Parachute Club.
‘ In 1956, the f i rst civilian parachute club was founded and operated out of Fairoaks Aerodrome near Chobham, Surrey,’ writes Keith Fuller, 86, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
‘My photo shows five pupil instructors, the chief instructor and his wife, the club secretary, in front of the former World War II parachute packing room.
‘The club was started by the celebrated Major Terence ‘Dumbo’ Willans, a trailblazing parachutist and consultant for the GQ Parachute Company of Woking. In the picture are [left to right]: George Bottomer, a GQ employee; me, from Hastings, East Sussex; Peter Lang, from Kent; Bill and Mary Sykes, the chief instructor/ cl ub pi l ot and s ecretary, from Dorking, Surrey; Mick Longthorpe, from Abingdon, Oxfordshire; and Yvonne Turner, a pilot from Surrey.
‘We all qualified as free-fall parachute instructors. I would be delighted to hear their memories of the club. I went on to become an RAF Air Movements Flight Lieutenant.’