The old guard passes : June 2011

Obituaries in The Times of London and elsewhere

Sqn Ldr Peter Clayton DSO, DFC 25 May 1922 - 3 May 2011
Master Bomber in the Pathfinder Force against V2, Falaise pocket, German ports and the Ruhr, synthetic oil at Magdeburg

Wing Commander John Beazley DFC 18 July 1916 - 13 June 2011
Fighter pilot in Battle of Britain, defence of Malta, and Ceylon, before opting for Transport Command

Flt Lieutenant Don Nelson DFC and bar 13 February 1920 - 20 March 2011 
Pathfinder navigator who flew 70 missions including Northern France, V1 sites, E-boat bases and German ports

Vice Admiral Sir John Martin KCB, DSC 10 May 1918 - 31 May 2011
From Spanish Civil War to MiD for Aden via Norway, Dunkirk, chasing Bismark, Torch, to the Pacific campaign

Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Dhenin KBE, AFC and Bar, GM 2 April 1918 - 6 May 2011
Medical officer who won GM for rescuing crew member of crashed Lancaster, subsequently volunteered to fly through clouds from atomic weapons tests

Rear Admiral John Templeton-Cotill CB 4 June 1920 - 23 May 2011
Navy wartime conscript who was offered a permanent commission in 1946. On HMS London during the Yangste Incident

Maj General Peter Welsh OBE, MC 23 December 1930 - 17 April 2011
Led daring raids against guerillas in Sarawak in the 1960's, his regiment commended for restraint and proportionality on "Bloody Sunday" in Northern Ireland