I have just received two e-mails, one from Penny Smith, née Wild, an ex-Fighter Controller who did the QWI Course flying in Lightnings and the other from John Ward, an ex-Lightning Pilot. Penny now lives in the USA, John runs the Lightnings of the Lightning Preservation Group based at Bruntingthorpe with whom I have the privilege of working. He was an instructor on the QWI Course. I've copied them below. It will give those who never knew Lofty a view of the immense presence he was in our Branch in the past.
Dear Penny, Thank you for passing on that sad news, Lofty was a good friend. He and Judith called here for lunch several years back and we really enjoyed reminiscing over our escapades. Judith was not so well but Ian coped with that admirably. Then I heard they had moved from Mill Rise and sadly we lost touch. Penny, I would be very grateful if you could pass on the below few words to his son, perhaps through the FCA. Many thanks, with warm regards John IAN "LOFTY" WETHERELL At the end of 1969 I was posted to No 5 Squadron as the weapons officer and tasked with leading a team to compete in the AFCENT Air Defence Competition a few months later. We were remarkably lucky that Lofty was one of the three Patrington controllers nominated to provide GCI direction ? along with Flt Sgts McDavitt and Johnson. I flew as lead ?eyeball? fighter, always with Lofty controlling, and we became very slick at the task. He had a calm confidence in what we were doing that rubbed off on us all; he could control a scramble on a supersonic target, record the tail numbers and have me back on he ground in twenty minutes. We won the trophy that year, largely because of the example he set. We knew that the following year we would have to up our game dramatically, because of powerful competition from European squadrons, and it was Lofty who persuaded me to adopt an especially challenging tactic (and ensure that his fellow controllers were with him) that enabled 5 Sqn to win the trophy the following year as well. In fact, he was the key player behind the 1971 award to Patrington of the Burniaux Trophy for the top GCI team, an acknowledgement of their skill and his example. It?s a splash, Lofty, Pigeons when you?re ready.
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