Dave Critchley
Well known to most on the squadron, a happy cheerful
bloke, even after his wife left him and the troubles that followed. Dave was one of the lads that travelled around the
usual RAF camp discos, as well as regular trips to Luxemburg. On one of these
trips, Dave met Sandy, a WRAC from Rheindalen. They hit it off from the start. Following a night out at the local RAF disco, we would
head to Sandy’s block where Dave would say goodnight to her and the rest would
wait patiently in the car. Goodnight seemed to take a long time then. Both seemed to be having a bad time in the service and
decided to leave. Trouble was that the police didn’t like the way they went and
they were arrested, which led to them getting kicked out the mob. Seems fare,
as it was what they wanted in the first place.
After Bruggen, a lot of the FLM’s got posted to
Coltishall and Dave and Sandy settled there too. Dave would often be signed
onto camp to use the local facilities. During the time that I knew him in Norfolk, Dave would
be working as a delivery driver. On one occasion, I visited Dave at his house,
only to find that he was making a delivery during the night. Sounded a bit
dodgy to me! This occupation soon led to Dave becoming a HGV driver,
something he wasn’t content with and ended up applying for work at Norwich
Airport with Air UK Ltd. This was the making of Dave. Back, into Aircraft
Engineering. A career that he stayed with until the day he died. A career, that
saw Dave working twice in Germany and three times in the UK. Each time with
Sandy, until after 14 years they went their own way.
Each time I have tried to find Dave, I have come across the same answers: He is in Africa! No one knew where he was. He disappeared. It is only by tracking people down now, that I have at last found Dave. Unfortunately, too late! During the latter years of Dave’s life, he had developed a cancerous mole on his chest. This was successfully removed with laser treatment. However, he did have to visit the hospital twice a year to make sure that the cancer didn’t come back. Dave, never being one for doctors and Hospitals didn’t have these follow up appointments and later developed a tumour at the base of the neck. Something that later killed him.
Sandy and Dave had moved to the UK following their second trip to Germany. This is when they went their own
way. Sandy’s work had finished in the UK, but there was an opportunity in
Ireland. Sandy moved to Ireland and is now living in Cork. She and her partner
have recently moved into their new home. Having spoken to her, she is still the
bubbly character that we all remember and I am sure, like me, you would want to
wish her and her partner all the best for the future. I know she would want to
meet some of you.
