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Air Vice-Marshal John Price CBE DL
President of No 98 Squadron Association and Flight Commander on Venoms at Fassberg, 53 to Jul54.

Jet fighter pilot during the Korean War who flew helicopters during the Indonesian Confrontation.






     Price, right, with his navigator following his final flight in a Buccaneer.


     AIR VICE-MARSHAL JOHN PRICE, who has died aged 89, flew jet fighters during the Korean War and helicopters on operations in Borneo and Northern Ireland.   During four separate appointments in the Ministry of Defence he filled senior positions responsible for air operations.

     After a period flying Vampire fighters in Germany, Price was one of a number of RAF pilots attached to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to fly Meteors on operations in Korea.   In December 1952 he joined 77 Squadron based at Kimpo in South Korea, by which time it was clear that the Meteor in air combat was no match for the MiG 15 fighter flown by the opposition.

     Armed with eight rockets and 20 mm cannons, it was more effective in the ground attack role, and Price flew many missions attacking road convoys, supply dumps and enemy ground positions.   At the end of his six-month attachment he was Mentioned in Despatches.

     John Walter Price (he liked to be known as John Willie) was born in Birmingham on January 26 1930 and educated at Solihull School.   In 1949 he gained a cadetship at the RAF College Cranwell, where he trained as a pilot and won the prize for war studies.

     His early career was spent on fighters, and after his time in Korea he returned to Germany to fly the Venom, becoming the flight commander on 98 Squadron at Fassberg.   In July 1954 he returned to Australia as a tactics and gunnery instructor at the RAAF fighter school at Williamstown in New South Wales.   He later became a flight commander on 75 Squadron, flying the Meteor.

     After his return to the RAF in August 1956 he was the adjutant at the RAF Technical College at Henlow before the first of his appointments in London, where he served in the operational plans division.

     In October 1964 he converted to helicopters before leaving for Singapore to take command of 110 Squadron flying the Whirlwind.   The squadron was heavily involved in supporting army operations during the period of Indonesian Confrontation in Borneo and it was frequently detached to Kuching in Sarawak, to Brunei and to Labuan.   Price and his pilots flew resupply sorties to remote landing strips in forward positions.   On one occasion he was flying near the Indonesian border when his crewman told him he could see a lot of what seemed to be little red birds flying towards them.   Price recognised the red birds as tracer bullets.

     After a period on the directing staff at the RAF Staff College, Price became the personal staff officer to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir John Grandy.   He soon displayed his talent as a staff officer, and the exposure to the issues of higher command were to serve him well in the future.

     Price returned to the helicopter world in 1970 when he assumed command of 72 Squadron flying the Wessex.   The squadron was based in Northern Ireland to provide support for the security forces.   At times, particularly in the border area with the south, movement could only be carried out safely by helicopter.   At the end of his tour he was appointed OBE.

     Further appointments in MoD followed before he took command of RAF Laarbruch in Germany in December 1976, the home of two Buccaneer strike/attack squadrons and a Jaguar reconnaissance squadron.   After 15 years flying helicopters. Price completed a series of refresher courses to allow him to fly all the roles flown by his crews.   After two years, when he completed his tour, he wrote: "I could not have had a more wonderful last flying tour."   Shortly after leaving Germany he was advanced to CBE.

     Price spent the last five years of his service in high-profile appointments in the MoD, first in charge of the RAF's strike operations and, after promotion to air vice-marshal, he became the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations).   His arrival in the post coincided with the end of the Falklands War, and he and his staff became heavily involved in enhancing the RAF's capabilities in the area and the constant resupply of the garrison.   The Tornado was also becoming established in RAF service in both the UK and in Germany.

     Price decided to retire in 1984.   He moved to Herefordshire and worked in the oil and gas exploration sector, mainly concerned with drilling operations in the UK.   He later became a consultant.

     He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and later for Herefordshire after boundary changes.

     Some saw Price as an enigma.   He appeared formal and somewhat stiff but he was a shrewd judge of character and others' abilities, and his excellent staff work was characterised by astute and perceptive judgements.

     He displayed other characteristics as a keen supporter of the Buccaneer Aircrew Association.   When his increasing immobility prevented him from attending annual reunions he never failed to send a donation and a greeting, with the message to "put it behind the bar".   He was also a strong supporter of the local branch of the Aircrew Association and he made every effort to attend meetings despite his deteriorating health.

     For a period after his retirement from the RAF he enjoyed a less formal approach to life.   He was an avid biker, and on one occasion he arrived at a reunion at his former base near Belfast, where he confused the police at the checkpoint who reported: "There is an aged biker with an earring who claims to be a retired air vice-marshal!"   On another occasion he was stopped for speeding.   When Price removed his helmet the policeman commented: "A bit old for this sort of thing, aren't we sir?"   The outcome was just a little friendly advice.

     In addition to his interest in motorbikes, Price was an excellent carpenter with a large workshop, where he made large pieces of furniture.

     John Price married Margaret McIntyre in Australia in 1956.   She died in 1989, and in 2004 he married Ilse Burrows, who survives him along with four stepchildren.

(Thanks to the Daily Telegraph).
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