|
In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
EVANS, John Colin (47-49) died on 11th May 2023 aged 90 as we were informed in 2024 by his widow Liz.
John arrived at the Nautical College in January 1947 from Harrow County School. Lent Term 1947 is probably the coldest term ever recorded at the school. No hockey was played after the middle of January and outdoor activities were confined to inter-divisional walking matches, snow balling and skating. For a fortnight the thermometer never rose above freezing; the lowest-ever temperature at the College of 9F/-13C was recorded in this period. John survived this, perhaps because he had family connections in Canada. He was a member of Harbinger Division (then based in a large freezing house on Bowden Green). At the end of the summer term 1949 he left the College having reached Form V1 Science, passed his School Certificate exam and become secretary of the Wireless Club.
Crossing the Atlantic aged 17 with a view of joining the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), he was informed that he was too young. So he spent three terms teaching at St. John’s College, Nassau in the Bahamas. The headmaster at the time was another OP, the remarkable RCW Llewelyn (22-24) who later became a priest and in 1994 won the Templeton Prize for his contribution “to the advancement of religion in the field of spirituality.”
On joining the RCN in June 1951 on a short service appointment, John was selected for flight training. The Canadian Navy Lists for 1952 show him as a Midshipman training to be a pilot at various RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) Stations. In October 1952 he was appointed to an RCN land base in Nova Scotia called HMCS Shearwater, transferring soon after to the RCAF base at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Here he flew a mixture of Swordfish, Anson V and Harvard aircraft. He went on to have a varied career in the Canadian forces, flying off Canadian aircraft carriers, serving in Korea and travelling extensively.
In the late-1950s John was seconded from the RCN to help create, organise and train the new Tunisian air force as the French withdrew from Tunisia in 1957-58. This led on to a long career in civil aviation, starting out as the personal pilot of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia’s first president.
John’s time in civil aviation subsequently was to take him to many African countries and finally to the Greek islands. At one stage or another he lived in Greece, Spain and Canada. He retired to the U.K. and London where he kept fit by walking and gardening, travelling and, in the words of his widow, “remaining intellectually curious – an interesting and stimulating companion, a loyal friend and a loving husband.” (Source: The Pangbournian Portal)
|
