A member of one of Britain’s most famous aviation dynasties has become the latest Trustee to join the Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust.
John de Havilland is the grandnephew of pioneer aviator Geoffrey de Havilland who set up the de Havilland company in 1920, turning it into a worldwide aviation name and building some of the most iconic aircraft in history.
Now Pembrokeshire based, John is already very familiar with the Trust and its plans as he has been a volunteer at the Flying Boat Centre in Pembroke Dockyard since it opened in June last year.
In that time he has worked on the conservation and restoration of several parts of Short Sunderland T9044 which sank in the Haven 70 years ago. The Trust plans to recover T9044 and display it in Pembroke Dock as a central element of a major heritage centre.
“There is a very personal connection with my family as the propellers used on T9044 and other Sunderlands were made by my family firm,” said John. “I greatly enjoy working as part of a dedicated and hugely enthusiastic team at the Centre and am delighted to be asked to become a Trustee and look forward to helping develop this very exciting project.”
John is also very active in current aviation. He is the Chief Executive of De Havilland Worldwide Ltd and flies as a Captain worldwide in corporate Boeing 727 and 777 airliners and Gulfstream executive jets. He is a colonel in the Commemorative Air Force in the United States and has flown the P-51 Mustang and the F4 Phantom.
Welcoming John, Sunderland Trust Chairman William McNamara said: “John is a very valuable recruit as we strengthen our trustees’ team. He brings tremendous connections with the present-day aviation world and also has a great enthusiasm and commitment to our project, linked with historic connections to the flying boat era.”
Caption:
John de Havilland (left) and Sunderland Trust chairman William McNamara with a model of the famous Short Sunderland.
