Magazine 2024 Final Full Res v1 - Flipbook - Page 25
Air Commodore John De’Ath MBE (1932 -2023)
John was a star athlete at Whitgiv
Middle School, excelling as a
middle distance runner on the
track and as a cross country
runner, awarded full athle}c
colours, with the much coveted
blazer.
His support for the Bursary Fund
through his membership of the
Mitre Society is a measure of his
apprecia}on of the prepara}on
he received for the life of
achievement which followed.
John gained a place to read
Economics at LSE but was
persuaded by his father to follow
the family tradi}on and join the
RAF. He spent 3 years at RAF
Cranwell sta昀昀 college, gradua}ng
in 1954. He had been heavily
involved in sport and was
awarded full colours for athle}cs
and cross country, despite
contrac}ng polio, from which he
was able to recover.
On joining the RAF, he became a
supply and logis}cs specialist,
commanding RAF Hendon and
the Supply Computer Control
Centre as a Wing Commander,
moving on to run the Logis}cs
Depot at Sta昀昀ord as Group
Captain and crowning his career
as Air Commodore, Head of
Branch at the MoD.
pro昀椀le life of spor}ng ac}vity, at
close to interna}onal level. First
selected to represent the RAF in
1956, 9 of the team par}cipated
at the Melbourne Olympics. John
was also a keen mountaineer and
was awarded the MBE for his
work on behalf of the Duke of
Edinburgh9s Award, leading
par}es of cadets up the Jungfrau
and the Ma琀琀erhorn. He joined
the RAF Athle}c Associa}on in
1960 as Cross Country Team
Manager, becoming Deputy
Chairman in the 1970s, Chairman
in the 1980s and a life VicePresident.
his other passion, athle}cs. John
became Vice-President of the
Achilles Club and Trustee of the
Achilles Trust and Trustee and
Treasurer of OUAC Development
Fund. (Oxford University Athle}c
Club). Here, his }reless work
John lev the RAF in 1986 and took
fostered substan}al endowments
on the post of Home Bursar at
which con}nue to underpin the
Jesus College, Oxford, where his
Club for the future. Another
skills in man management and
notable achievement was his
administra}on made him a very
organisa}on of the 40th and 50th
e昀昀ec}ve and well respected
anniversaries of Roger Bannister9s
manager of all the non-academic
4 minute mile. The 40th event
aspects of the college, organising
was a琀琀ended by all subsequent
catering and accommoda}on for
world record holders at the
the students, facili}es for the
distance, bar one. (see next page)
Fellows and managing the sta昀昀.
Sadly, John9s mobility was badly
This post also required him to
a昀昀ected by post-polio syndrome
prac}ce another passion, as a
and he was con昀椀ned to a wheel
member of the Senior Common
Room Wine Commi琀琀ee, travelling chair from 2010 but, never-thewidely to purchase supplies and, less, supported by his wife Sonia,
he con}nued to travel
as he was inclined to put it,
extensively.
