9th March 2023 • The HERALD • Page 33 v F @heraldpublishing v FLAT ROOFING SPECIALISTS All Roof Repairs Tel: 023 8184 5632 Mobile: 07880 508415 Email: steve@braithwaiteroo ng.co.uk THE FLAT ROOF SPECIALIST Promoted to Flight Lieutenant in September 1956, Frank continued to press for an airborne role, whether on V-bombers or back in the Far East, but a er converting to Blackburn Beverley aircra he found himself posted to 47 Squadron ferrying troops from Abingdon to trouble spots in the Middle East. Unenthused, he seized an opportunity for secondment to the newly formed Royal Malayan Air Force, created in June 1958, a few months a er independence. is time he could take his family with him to Kuala Lumpur. Back in the UK a er three years, he converted to the new Armstrong Whitworth Argosy, expecting a posting to 114 Squadron, only to be ‘poached’ as an instructor for 242 Operational Conversion Unit, now situated at orney Island in West Sussex. However, the edgling Kenya Air Force, founded in 1964 a er independence, needed professional help both in training navigators and supporting army and police contingents who were ghting secessionists in the so-called ‘Shi a War’ in Kenya’s Northern District. Between 1965 and 1968, Frank put in over 800 hours, including ights with Vice-President Daniel Arap Moi on diplomatic missions. At the end of his secondment, he achieved high marks in the RAF’s Air Tra c Control Examining Scheme: ‘With experience he will make a rst-class controller’, his report stated. By then, thinking about civilian life, possibly as a teacher, he still could not resist an approach from a senior British contact in the Zambian Air Force into which he was formally commissioned Love the Forest and Apply for Funding e Love the Forest scheme is inviting people to apply for grants of up to £5,000 for projects which help secure the future of the New Forest. e scheme, run by registered charity the New Forest Trust, has recently funded a wide range of conservation, education and commoning projects. Initiatives include printing the New Forest Code to show how to care for the Forest; supporting the campaign to reduce animal accidents; research into rare pine martens; a lm for visitors about how to the keep the Forest special and providing litter picking kits for National Park ambassadors. Businesses across the National Park generously help raise the funds from their customers by adding a small donation to restaurant bills, accommodation, products and services. New Forest Trust Chairman William Ziegler said: “The New Forest landscape is globally important for nature and it’s only through everyone working together that we can make sure it’s around for future generations. “We know there are some great projects which could get under way with a bit of funding so we’re calling on businesses, communities, schools and organisations to submit their ideas. Applying is easy and you’ll get a quick response. “We would also like to thank our partner businesses and their customers who have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds over the years to ensure the spectacular New Forest is not just protected but improved.” Grants of £50 to £5,000 are available and projects must meet one or more of the New Forest Trust charitable objectives: • Promoting the conservation, protection and improvement of the New Forest • Promoting the conservation and protection of the commoning livestock, the deer and other ora and fauna of the New Forest • Promoting the education and understanding of the public in the commoning of livestock, of fauna and ora and the environment of the New Forest. Find out more about projects the scheme has supported and how to apply for your own grant on the website: www.lovetheforest.org.uk OBITUARY FOR FLIGHT LIEUTENANT FRANCIS SOUNESS DFC at the end of 1969 on taking early retirement from the RAF. Attached to the Presidential Flight, he recorded many journeys with President Kuanda on board. Next came a non- ying role in Uganda, under United Nations auspices, followed by attachment to the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force, primarily in Air Tra c Control (with a SOAF rank as Squadron Leader), until family demands required a return to the United Kingdom. In June 1980, Frank was reinstated in the RAF with a permanent commission at his former rank, backdated to 1967. He was now to follow a career in Air Tra c Control, at which he excelled. One 1982 assessment praised his ‘exceptional temperament for ATC’. From 1983 to 1986, he served as Deputy Senior Air Tra c Controller, RAF Leuchars, until nally retiring to nearby Cupar in 1987 a er 41 years in aviation and over 5,600 ying hours. Sadly, most of the following two decades centred on caring for his wife Pat who lived with Parkinson’s disease until her death in 2008. Moving from Scotland to the New Forest, to be near his daughter and her partner Sir Julian Lewis our local Member of Parliament, Frank enjoyed gardening. Service commemorations and making new friendships in retirement. Francis Souness was born on 31st August 1930 and died on 30th December 2022, aged 92. A celebration of his life was held in January at the Test Valley crematorium. Fiona and Julian hope presently to fulfil his wish for his ashes to be scattered in - or over - Kenya, a country for which he had especial affection. Continued from page 32 Winter roads and animals New Forest National Park Authority e New Forest local group of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have a eld trip from 10am to 1pm on Saturday 11th March to Kings Copse (SU 436 016), meeting in the Blackwell Common Forestry Commission car park, o Exbury Road, Black eld. en on Thursday 30th March from 10am to 1pm the group will visit Stanpit Marsh, Christchurch (SZ 172 925), meeting in the free public car park at Stanpit. For further infromation please email: NewForestGroup@RSPB.org.uk or visit the group’s website: group.rspb.org.uk/newforest/. ose taking part in eld trips should wear suitable dull coloured clothing and sturdy footwear. Non-members are currently charged £5 per eld trip or indoor meeting. OUT AND ABOUT WITH THE RSPB
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