Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with sadness that Hawkeye has been informed of recent deaths in our veteran community.

Thomas (known as “Tam”) Connolly served in the Army Air Corps in the 1980s. Whilst serving in 658 Squadron AAC with 7 Regiment AAC at Netheravon he was awarded Commendation by Director Army Air Corps for preventing an incident when he spotted a fault with Gazelle XX372 which was preparing to lift. He indicated to the pilot to close down the aircraft and called for assistance. In the citation it was recorded that, “…by Airtrooper Connolly’s diligence and attention to detail he averted a potentially serious fault, which could have put the aircraft and crew at great risk”. Tam attended the Army Air Corps Junior NCO Cadre course that year and was subsequently selected for promotion and appointed as the driver for Director Army Air Corps, initially with Major General Goodman and then Major General Busk.
Tam’s funeral is to be held at the Glasgow Crematorium in Maryhill at 1245 on Fri 30 Jun 23. Our thoughts are with his brother Eugene and his many friends and comrades.

Rob Collingwood died aged 42. (Image: Wiltshire Air Ambulance)

Tributes have been paid to a Wiltshire Air Ambulance pilot who died of cancer aged 42.

Rob Collingwood, described by the charity as a “much-admired pilot”, died on Tuesday, April 4, after a short battle with cancer.

Mr Collingwood joined the county’s air ambulance charity in 2016 after serving for more than a decade in the British Army.

During that time, he flew Lynx helicopters in the Army Air Corps.

He also spent a year in the North Sea, flying to the oil rigs.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance said they were “heartbroken” at the news and paid tribute to Mr Collingwood, who will be fondly remembered as a team player who kept his colleagues fed with his famous South African braais.

A spokesperson said: “Rob loved working for the charity and the staff loved him. He was so passionate about our cause and understood the importance of being a team player.

“He had a real passion for environmental sustainability, a strong faith and was always positive.

“Most of all, Rob enjoyed keeping the team fed with his famous South African braais (barbeques).

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Rob’s wife, children, family and friends at this time. The charity will be providing support to all our staff during this period of mourning.”

Recieved from RHQ:

Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with sadness that Hawkeye has learned of the loss of AirTpr (Retd) Mark Bennett AAC, (24 Apr 71 – 5 Mar 23). Mark served with 662 Sgn, 3 Regt AAC from 1993 – 1997 and awarded a UN medal in 1995. He was a CO’s driver from 1996 – 1997.
To those that knew him, Mark was extremely efficient, very polite and always smiling. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

From Lee Dobson

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, sadly, Ian Morton sadly passed away yesterday after being in an induced comma due to CoVID. Ian was my first SSM at 7 Flight in Berlin and was the nicest guy you could ever meet. Berlin was a tight knit group and I had the pleasure of meeting his family, too, and they were just as wonderful as Ian. His passing brings tears to my eyes and my sincere condolences to Wendy and the rest of his family.