Update: Jean’s funeral has been arranged for 11:30 on Wednesday 27th November 2024 at Reading Cemetery & Crematorium, All Hallows Road, Caversham, Reading RG4 5LP.
Word has come from Ken Fostekew that Jean died last night, 28th October 2024. Jean was a great character and will leave a big hole in the old Fairey Surveys community.
The photograph below is from the annual reunion at White Waltham Cricket Club in 2003, taken by Peter Green.
Jean was the Archivist for the Museum of Berkshire Aviation, which she and Ken helped to create on the old Woodley Aerodrome, and used to give lectures to local organisations about aviation and air survey.
She had four sons with her first husband, Bill “Bix” Clark, who was also a former FSL employee.
Port Stanley in the Falklands with Beechcraft Queenair
Sad news that Geoff Milsom has passed away. His son Chris called to say that Geoff died 9th September 2024, at Wexham Park Hospital after a stroke.
During WWII Geoff flew Spitfires and Hurricanes, starting out at age 18 in Burma. After the war he carried on flying, working for the Air Survey Company, which became Fairey Surveys and later Clyde Surveys. He was Chief Pilot for many years, and a brilliant survey pilot. The photograph above was taken during a survey in the Falklands for Mount Pleasant airport that was built in 1985 after the Falklands war.
In May there was a wonderful celebration at White Waltham Aero Club for Geoff’s 100th birthday, with family, friends and former colleagues all coming together to share the milestone, and enjoy a great party and great weather in a place that played a big part in his life.
The funeral was held on Friday September 27th 2024 at All Saints Church in Maidenhead, with the burial at Braywick Cemetery, where other family members are buried. The Maidenhead Advertiser published an obituary on September 19th. Read it here.
A few photographs from the day:
And the last post for Geoff Milsom, from the RAF. View the video here.
What a milestone, and what a great party. (Good enough to get in the paper: online version here, and to be published in the Maidenhead Advertiser on Friday 31st May.)
Geoff celebrated his birthday where he was based for so much of his working life, White Waltham airfield, surrounded by family, friends and old Faireys. In tribute to the most senior old Fairey, the weather was wonderful, the planes were all flying, and the familiar scent of aviation fuel drifted across the grass. The West London Aero Club provided the food and drink, and the family provided the balloons.
There were quite a lot of family. Children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, cousins, second cousins, second cousins once removed …. Some were getting together for the first time in twenty years. But since Geoff spent most of his working life overseas, they probably haven’t seen very much of him over the years. And so much did he love flying, that when he came up to retirement age, he was owed about three years of accumulated leave!
One of the Hurricanes based at White Waltham was heading out to Duxford, and gave a pass by the airfield in homage to the occasion, to the delight of the crowd, especially the children.
A few pictures from the occasion – right click on the photographs for a full size image (select open in new tab):-
Geoff with his sons Chris (L) and Geoff Jnr (R)
Here just a few of the family: Lesley, Geoff jnr’s wife (R), granddaughter Beverley Paskin and great grandchildren Arlo Paskin (L) and his sister Amber Paskin
And the sun shone
And there was a huge cake
And a lot of presents
A very big birthday card (with John Tompkins and Lawrence Scott ), and one from the King and Queen
And there were more old Fairey pilots. John Mullin here, and Dusty Miller
And a Hurricane (here being inspected by Geoff before take-off)
Which did a fly past
Dusty Miller got some good photographs, including some group photographs of the guests at the airfield fence while Geoff was looking at the Hurricane, and an excellent one of the cake.
Richard Cripwell has emailed to let us know the details of his father’s funeral:
The Memorial Service for John Cripwell will be held on Tuesday 12 March 2024 at St Edmund’s Church in Calne, Wiltshire at Noon. The address of the Church is:
Saint Edmund’s Catholic Church Oxford Road Calne Wiltshire SN11 8AQ
Please note that there is very limited parking near the Church but some is located reasonably close by.
The Cripwell family warmly invite everyone to join them, after the service, for tea and refreshments at The Pewsham SN15 3RU, between Calne and Chippenham. It is about a seven minute drive with plenty of parking.
News has been passed on by Lawrence Scott that John Cripwell died on 17th January 2024. John’s son Richard called Lawrence to let him know, and will pass on details of funeral arrangements when they are available.
John was born in Rhodesia on 8th January 1934, so he had just turned 90. He was a surveyor with Fairey Surveys from late 1965, and spent a lot of time overseas, as well as managing the FSL Dublin office for a time.
Ross Dallas sent in an article for the website about his time as a surveyor with FSL in the late 60s, with references to John during a job in Saudi Arabia. You can read it here.
The picture at the top is from a photograph taken at the 2004 reunion barbecue at White Waltham. For the full photograph, click here. He is also on the 2013 reunion photograph.
The indexed version is now available, click here to see it.
The list of people who couldn’t make it this year is here.
If anyone has photographs they took at the reunion that they would like to share, please email them to admin@faireysurveys.co.uk and we’ll put them up on the post.
Victor Brown has sent these photographs from the reunion (to see full size images, right click on an image and select “Open image in new tab”) :
News has come in from Tony Woodcroft’s daughter Lucy Banham that her father passed away on the morning of 7th August at Wexham Park Hospital. Funeral details are below.
Tony Woodcroft
Tony was the Company Secretary/Accountant at Clyde Surveys, on secondment from Sir William Halcrow and Partners Ltd, from 1986 until he retired in 1992. (With apologies for originally describing him as a surveyor.)
If you would like to attend the funeral or the wake, please could you email admin@faireysurveys.co.uk, as the family would appreciate knowing the numbers at the crematorium and at the King’s Arms.
The memorial service was held on 30th September in Cookham. John and Carol Tompkins and Jean and Ken Fostekew attended from Fairey Surveys.
Below are photographs sent by John Tompkins from Bob’s memorial service booklet. To see larger versions of the photographs, right click and select ‘open in new tab’.
Bob’s memorial service booklet
Bob and Liz Purcell, wedding day 1968
Bob overseas and family photos
Bob and Liz Purcell
A memorial service has been arranged for Bob Purcell at the Holy Trinity Church in Cookham, followed by cheese and wine. The family would be really pleased to see some of his old friends and colleagues from Fairey Surveys.
The Holy Trinity Church is at Ferry Lane, Cookham, Maidenhead SL6 9SN. The church has a small car park for visitors.
The nearest public car park is the Sutton Road car park on the A4094 towards Maidenhead. According to the web, it’s free, but there are only 18 spaces. Next nearest (about 500m) is the Cookham Moor National Trust car park, 2 High Street SL6 9SG, £2 or free for NT members. There is a bit of street parking by the war memorial at the West end of the High Street (about 300m).
Peter’s son Chris has let us know that the funeral will be on Monday 24th July 2023 at 2:00 pm, at West Berkshire Crematorium on the A4 Bath Road near Thatcham.
The funeral will be followed by a wake at the The Angel on the A4 at Woolhampton, at about 3:00 pm onwards.
This photograph came from Ken Fostekew, taken at Geoff Milsom’s 99th birthday celebration, but it warrants a post all of its own.
Geoff piloted Hurricanes as well as Spitfires during WWII, and he was an instructor for Hurricanes. Here he is talking to James Brown, the owner and pilot of two Hurricanes kept at White Waltham airfield.
Hurricane pilots together: Geoff Milsom and James Brown
