John Ward
There are not enough well meaning adjectives to describe John Ward.
An extremely talented man, John was a fount of knowledge in all things ‘49.’
He was the inspiration behind our squadron history and with ‘Uncle Will’ supplying details of missions undertaken by the squadron, produced ‘Beware of the Dog at War’ which spanned the 49 years of squadron history and ran to two editions.
Occasionally, we would get an enquiry that was not 'run-of-the-mill'; perhaps about a certain aircraft - John was never stymied.
John was also a very talented artist producing many first rank paintings and hand coloured photographs for members. I did suggest to him to become a member of The Guild of Aviation Artists, where he was equal to all, but it held no interest for him.
Tragically, John became seriously ill and passed away in December 2017.
One of his last messages was his desire to interview the 55,500 who were waiting to meet him.
John Ward, our Association President and Historian, speaking at a reunion.