George Beaton
Former Bursar

George passed away on Good Friday (2 April 2021) after a short illness. He was 95.

Born in 1925 he lived through the war years. As a boy, he had an amazing singing voice and became a chorister. He sang at the coronation of King George 6th and also toured the USA with the choir. After a short stint as a surveyor with The Ordinance Survey he joined the Parachute Regiment before moving to the Glider Regiment where he found his love of flying. He then had a 25 year career in the RAF retiring as a Wing Commander. In that time he was at the forefront of the new ‘Jet Age’ and flew and test piloted most of these new aircraft including the Lightning, Meteor, Hunter, Javelin, Vampire to name but a few. It was as a test pilot that he won his Air Force Cross for ‘acts of gallantry while flying’. He was stationed all over Europe, Canada and the United States. His Javelin became famous amongst aviation fans as the only unpainted (silver) Javelin in the RAF on which, his squadron painted his initials as a mark of affection and respect. If you buy an Airfix model or diecast model of a Javelin today, it will be his plane with his initials on the tail. Microsoft Flight Simulator also uses his plane. After the RAF he spent 20 years as a school Bursar in two public schools which he was brilliant at and absolutely loved. After finally retiring in his late 60s he devoted much of his time to charity and the Rotary Club in particular.

Written by his son, Malcolm