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Squadron Leader Bill Ritchie MBE

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Eulogy for William



1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesI am honoured to have been asked by my dearest Auntie Pat, my Uncle William's beloved wife, to give the eulogy today.   Before I share with you some details of William's very full and interesting life, I would like to tell you a little of what my Uncle William (or Bill as so many of you will have known him) meant to me.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesMy mother's only brother, he was a very special uncle.   Since he and Auntie Pat lived away from Aberdeen throughout my childhood, their visits home to see the family would be met by us all with great excitement.   Uncle William was tremendous fun to be around.   He enjoyed pulling his four sisters' legs and he would entertain all in his company for Uncle William was an excellent raconteur.   For me, there was sometimes the added pleasure of their bringing Shane their black Labrador with them, not to mention their son, my late cousin Kevin, who was always fun to be around, as well as Pat's identical twin, my Auntie Julie and her late husband Andrew who I also considered to be my uncle.   I remember those visits very fondly.   Uncle William was never anything but warm and kind to me.   Indeed, I cannot think of a single occasion throughout my life when he uttered a cross or ill-humoured word to me; he always seemed to have a ready smile, took great interest in anything that I was up to, and was very ready to tell me some very funny jokes, especially when I was a child.   I particularly remember one joke about a wide-mouthed frog - some of you may have heard him tell that one too.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesI have many very lovely memories of visiting Uncle William and Auntie Pat in Germany when Uncle William was based at RAF Wildenrath.   There were also numerous trips to see them in Ruislip from where we could head to Central London to the theatres, art galleries and shops.   I stayed with them for several weeks at one point when I was in the National Youth Theatre and it was lovely to form a more mature relationship with both Pat and William, as by this time I was in my late teens and on a great adventure down south on my own.   In more recent years, after they had settled in Banchory and I was living in London, I would see Pat and William each time I came back to Scotland.   Later, when I became a mother, Uncle William was delighted, I think, and always treated my three children with the same warmth, humour, love and generosity that he had shown me.   My children were very, very fond indeed of their Uncle William, as all the family were.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesIt was very sad to witness his mobility declining in recent years but despite the frustrations that this surely must have caused him, I never once heard him complain about it and he remained a cheerful and very kind uncle throughout, always immaculately dressed and very handsome to the end.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesWhen preparing for today, l realised that I did not know enough detail to be able to do William's life justice so I asked my dear Auntie Pat for help.   It can't have been easy for her to set it down but most of what follows was provided to me by her.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesWilliam Buthlay Charles Ritchie was born on the 8th January 1933 in Walker Road, Torry.   He was the middle child of five siblings - two sisters older (Jean and Joan) and two sisters younger (Ina and Catherine). With all these girls in the family it meant he had few, if any, household chores to do.   This left him lots of spare time to kick a ball about and this in time made him a very good football player.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesHe was dux of Walker Road School and was subsequently awarded a full bursary to Robert Gordon's College.   There he received full colours for both football and cricket.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesOn leaving school aged eighteen, he joined the Royal Air Force to do his required two years of National Service.   He was selected for air crew and did his flying training in Gimli, Manitoba in Canada.   On receiving his pilot's wings he returned to the UK and commenced jet training, after which he was posted to his first squadron, the 93rd Squadron in Jever, Germany, where he flew Sabre and Hunter jets, the most sophisticated fighter aircraft at that time.   By this time, he had realised that this was the career he wished to pursue.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesAfter Germany, he was selected to train as a flying instructor at Little Rissington and when that training was completed, he spent nine years as a flying instructor with Aberdeen University Air Squadron flying Chipmunk training aircraft, then with the German Air Force flying a Harvard training aircraft.   Finally, he was with the St Andrew's University Air Squadron.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesBy that time, he felt that it was time for a change so he swapped wings for blades.   He trained on helicopters in Anglesey and Shropshire.   After this training he then flew helicopters in Hong Kong and the jungles of Borneo whilst based in Singapore.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesHe returned home to the UK to fly the yellow painted search and rescue helicopters in Northumberland and Leuchars, flying over the East coast and Scottish mountains.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesFinally, he trained to fly Gazelle helicopters and spent eight years on 32 Squadron "The Royal Squadron".

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesBill met Pat on a home leave.   They had a letter writing romance whilst he was on 93 Squadron in Germany.   They married on the 24 July 1958, by which time he had joined the Aberdeen University Air Squadron, and Pat had completed her nursing training.   In February 1961, their late son Kevin was born to a delighted dad.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesThroughout Bill's life, sport, whether playing or watching, was very important to him.   In his teens he played semi-professional football for Forres Mechanics, travelling every Saturday to play.   He would have a pie after the game and, best of all, would be given a £5 note.   When travelling back to Aberdeen he would feel like a millionaire.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesHe became a keen rugby player while in the Air Force and, when he retired, he became a debenture holder at Murrayfield.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesPat travelled with Bill to all his postings, packing up their home every two to three years just so they could be together.   They would have celebrated their Diamond Wedding in July this year.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesAfter a final tour in Germany, Bill retired from the Air Force in January 1991 having served for 39 years.   On the 14th June 1986, he was awarded an MBE from the Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace - a very special and a very proud day.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesAfter retiring from the Air Force, he took up the post of Practice Manager at Banchory Medical Centre for a while but he was soon to go back into uniform when he became the Administration Officer for the Aberdeenshire Air Cadet Force.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesHe then retired for the final time and, living in Banchory, both Pat and Bill were members of the Golf Club and enjoyed their shared pleasures of playing golf and walking until, sadly, Bill's lack of mobility meant an end to their pursuits together.   Very sadly for Uncle William, he outlived all of his four sisters, and then, two and a half years ago, received the dreadful news that his son Kevin had died very suddenly - he and Pat were devastated by the loss of their only offspring.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesLastly, it must be mentioned that Bill so enjoyed the company of his ex-students who would sometimes collect him and go for coffee at the Milton - it would seem the hanger doors were never closed.   He also very much enjoyed the Aberdeen University Air Squadron luncheon in November, expertly organised every year by Charles Miller.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesDear Auntie Pat, thank you for those words about your beloved Bill.   Thank you too for the loving care and devotion you gave him, especially in recent times when he needed so much support.   All our hearts go out to you today on this very sad occasion and too soon after the loss of your darling son Kevin.   It was very difficult to hear you say to me the other day that you now have to accept that both the men in your life are gone.   However, both Kevin and William certainly knew how very much they were loved and cherished by you and I hope there is some comfort to be taken from that.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesWe bid farewell today to a much-loved and highly-respected husband, father, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, great-uncle, colleague and, most of all, friend.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesIn Auntie Pat's words, we shall all miss this Officer and a Gentleman.

1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesPat has asked me to conclude by reading the following text from Matthew chapter 5, verse 4:

Death is like the leaving of a ship.
She unfurls her sails in the red of the sunset and heads for the horizon,
leaving behind a group of mourners on the quay.
As she disappears over the horizon someone sighs, "There she goes... "
But at the same moment on a distant shore beyond the horizon,
another group is waiting and someone cries delightedly, "Here she comes... "
Dear Uncle William, Rest In Peace.



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