My father Malcolm was known to many of you through either his love of farming or more recently his love of aviation which he came to later in life gaining his microlight licence at the ripe old age of 72 !! @ in a shade under 53 hours .

He enjoyed chatting to all our aviation visitors both at our events at New Farm Airfield and those that just popped in for a chat and a Brew .

He moved from the family’s native Leicestershire where he was born in Ashby de La Zouch to Piddington in 1951 aged two and as the farming estate grew over the years as the family bought up neighbouring farms ; he never lost his love for farming and it was a wonderful treat after gaining his pilot’s licence to fly into Old Warden where he completed his agricultural training at Shuttleworth college back in the 1960’s .

In more recent years and having both decided to learn to fly ; we both studied and trained together on and off over a period of six years including two years of delays caused by the pandemic until we both gained them in 2021 .

Having created the airfield and watching me develop it over the years since spring 2015 ; it was a very proud moment to be awarded a certificate of merit from the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain in late 2021 presented to us both at a Gala reception at the RAF Club Piccadilly by the then Aviation minister Robert Courts MP .

Numerous articles followed the development of the airfield and our events in the BMAA magazine over recent years and a Certificate of Thanks presented to us by them last year .

He really enjoyed flying and viewing the other local farmers fields trying to spot mistakes whilst out for a local bimble in his Xair Hawk and we travelled to a number of local airfields together in it .

He flew into Old Warden again in the stunning Queen Bee Tiger moth thanks to a good friend and loved the experience .

Following his own wishes ; he decided that he did not want to have a funeral service when the time came and instead chose to have a simple no fuss cremation followed by his ashes being spread on the airfield by just the four immediate members of our family .

Therefore in his memory ; I have decided to set up this fundraiser for Macmillan cancer support who offered so much help and support throughout his short illness and who do so much for cancer patients and their families completely surviving on donations and receiving no government support or funding .

If you would like to make a donation in his memory please feel free to do so .

RIP Dad and Blue Skies Captain . 💔💔💔

Thanks for supporting my fundraising. Macmillan gives people with cancer everything they’ve got. If you’re diagnosed, your worries are Macmillan’s worries. Macmillan’s doing whatever it takes. But without your help, Macmillan can’t support everyone who needs them.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and secure. Your details are safe, JustGiving - they'll never sell them or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs.