From Graham ‘Oggie’ Swanson
Some of my fellow FAA aviators of the 1950s will remember Bill Conklin and his wife Buzzy. Our cabs were changing from Avgas to Avtur; Bill and Buz certainly changed our rather austere life styles too.
Bill, fresh from a carrier borne squadron of F-8 Crusaders operating over Vietnam, was appointed to 700 NAS at RNAS Ford in early 1956. Designated a Trials Unit ,besides Fleet Requirements, it must have been felt a suitable squadron for an exceptional Navy pilot. But Bill took kindly to our pensioned off Fire Fly TT4s – with an air driven winch – which spent most of their air time towing, or acting as, targets for ships and ground batteries. We also had Sea Hawks with which Bill demonstrated his superb aerobatic skills. Paired up with him on an otherwise tedious mission his Hawk would disappear from one wing tip, pause inverted over your cockpit, then slide down to the other tip.
On detachment to Gibraltar he led the Seahawks in displays over The Rock. Once, in a formation loop as a pair, one of my empty drop tanks fell off: some G! After I left the squadron Bill did get his hands on the FAA’s newer aircraft, including deck landing the Seahawk, Scimitar, Gannet and Sea Venom on Warrior, Ark Royal, Bulwark, Eagle, an Victorious. He was also proud to fly the venerable DH Rapide.
Socially both Bill and Buzzy were full of fun. Britain still had rationing and we impecunious FAA aviators mostly drove very old cars. Bill and Buz had imported their huge American limousine with the temporarily imported registration QG. (Buz reckoned that this stood for Queer Guests!) They delighted in chauffeuring us, my wife and me in particular, around southern England hostelries and they made monthly visits to The Smoke. On return they usually gave a very generous party, with cheap PX booze and fags for all. On one trip the room they stayed in had a wardrobe. In the middle of the night Bill was awakened with ‘Help Bill, the closet has fallen over!’
On return to the states Bill became a squadron commander, then a commander at the Pentagon. He could have been promoted but instead he escaped this concrete jungle to form a school sailing school at Annapolis with Buzzy. When relating each other’s cruising, by email, he wrote ‘Buzzy holds a 50-ton Masters License and once captained a 95 passenger boat!’ They finally retired to Naples, Florida and cruised – very adventurously – the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway – in their small yacht. Joy and I visited them there some years ago. Bill was then in his mid-seventies, had taken up writing and continued to be a fine tennis player. Three of his publications are advertised on Amazon, and has obituaries on the web. We visited many dockside bars with them for beers and their favorite fish and chips. Later Buzzy became seriously ill, passing away in hospital, aged 85 in 2009 after a long illness, with Bill constantly by her side. He informed us thus:
Dear friends.
Buzzy passed away Sunday morning. We had 61 years of closeness.
She urged me to carry on and have a good life.
I cry often, but feel at ease that she no longer suffers.
God bless her!
Bill
He eventually fulfilled Buzzy’s wishes , continuing to fly light aircraft and keep up his tennis. In 2010 he married Sally and in 2011 I was able to meet them when they visited the UK, to reminisce and make those inevitable last farewells.
Bill passed away on 15 June, 2013 at the age of 87.