We heard the sad news last night at our committee meeting, and despite him not having been a member for some years, we were all shocked.
He had been an active member with the Portsmouth Model Boat Display Team through our 'middle' years, but left us in 2009, following a silly misunderstanding between himself and another member, what he himself would describe as a 'ginger moment!' Despite this, he still had time for members of the Display Team, and was always a breath of fresh air whenever you would meet him. His enthusiasm for all things naval was obvious, leading to the formation of the 'Southern Shipyard', consisting of himself and Robbie Robertson. Both being ex-navy, they were thick as thieves, and between reminiscing about the good old days, swearing like troopers while 'discussing' the best way to approach a tricky part of the build, and posting their naval knowledge to all and sundry on line, to the wider world, they managed to refit/rebuild a 9' model of HMS Rodney, a similar sized total reconstruction on HMS Renown, an aircraft carrier refit, and finally Admiralty Train Ferry No3.
I think my favourite memory would be at the Roman Baths. A three day stint for a small group of us, where he was press ganged into taking on the role of the British Admiral, directing the fire of the British Ships as they engaged the enemy more closely. Dressed up in full senior service regalia, he was every inch the Below Decks Admiral. Truly finding his place in the world..
We will all miss him.