Eng Lt (AO) Maurice Ayling RN
Lived Sussex
Air Engineer
Died 21 May 2012
Widow Margaret
Funeral – all welcome
Chichester Crematorium, Westhampnettt Road, PO19 7UH, on Wednesday 30 May 2012 at 12.00 and afterwards at the Robin Hood.
Served fro 1940 to 1972. Joined as an Artificer aCommissioned 1957.
1958 1843 Sqn & ‘C’ Sqn Boscobe Down
1959 Ark Royal AOEO
1967 Eagle AOEO
1968 NAMEN & Fleetlands
1970 Lee on Solent Ordnance Training Officer
From his son John Ayling
Maurice was born 1st March 1925 at Sullington (near Storrington), West Sussex. His mum’s confinement was above a stable which housed two retired brood mares who were both in a state of high excitement as they both knew exactly what was going on above. He spent his early years as a country boy at West Chiltington working on the land at key times of the year, e.g. harvest time.
Maurice was educated locally in West Chiltington before winning a scholarship to Midhurst Grammar School.
He joined the Royal Navy as a 15 year old during the WW2 as an Artificer apprentice – in his own words he “started so low it took him 3 years to reach the bottom”! Worked his way up through the Ordnance engineering ranks in the Fleet Air Arm including a 3 year loan period to the Royal Australian Navy. He started his career working on wood and canvas biplanes and ended it on the Mach 2.2, 60,000lb McDonnell Douglas Phantom Jet. He was commissioned in 1959 and became an Air Ordnance Engineering Officer, making him one of the proudest officers in the Royal Navy. He never lost that sense of pride of being a Royal Navy officer and bearing in mind his origins, he had every right to be.
In 1945 he was on the way to the war in the Pacific when the bombs were dropped and ended hostilities. To find out more about what happened to Maurice follow the link http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/MONABS/REM_Ayling_JB.html and you will find memories of his as a 20 year old in Australia. A quicker option may be to simply Google Maurice Ayling and pick up the link provided. This search will also give you a link to DOWN_MEMORY_LANE which will give you an idea of what his life was like as a boy.
Whilst serving at HMS Daedalus, Lee-on-the-Solent just after the war, he utilised his engineering skills by mending a powder compact for a Wren called Margaret in the pay office. He ended up marrying her – this July would have seen their 65th wedding anniversary.
Served at various stations and at sea, most notably with HMS Ark Royal and HMS Eagle, the two largest aircraft carriers the Royal Navy has ever had to date. During these commissions he literally ‘saw the world’. This served him well by providing a lot of evidence and anecdotes he used in his many letters and stories. This also highlights one of his best qualities – to observe and learn from other cultures and to bring that learning back home.
After retiring from the RN Maurice joined Marconi Space and Defence Systems as a Trials Engineer, working on the development of the Spearfish torpedo. He soon became involved in procurement for the project, becoming Procurement Manager controlling a £20million budget for stores and equipment – no small enterprise over 25 years ago.
You cannot talk about Maurice without including rifle shooting which he began as a young man in the RN. It became his main interest and one which he was particularly good at – it was in his blood. Over the years he shot for and captained many teams including the Fleet Air Arm and RN rifle teams, he shot for the England Twenty team and toured Canada in 1977 with the Great Britain Rifle Team. Whilst at sea with the aircraft carriers he would lead a team from the ship’s company in matches all over the world, mainly as part of the Navy’s traditional PR role, but also in a spirit of genuine competition.
Outside of the RN he shot for and belonged to a number of other clubs including the Royal Navy Target Rifle Club, the British Commonwealth Rifle Club, Sussex County Rifle Association for whom he is President, the Sussex Home Guard Rifle Association among them. He reached the Queen’s Hundred on several occasions at Bisley, where he spent many, many weeks and weekends staying in his caravan taking part in his beloved rifle shooting. In later years he also joined the Chichester Rifle Club where he enjoyed shooting small bore rifles and meeting a lot more friends.
In 1978 Maurice was invited to shoot at the annual Jersey Rifle Association (JRA) meeting on the island of Jersey. This invitation was to extend unbroken for 33 years, only ending last year when he decided to finally retire from the sport at the age of 86. He and Margaret enjoyed their visits to Jersey so much and they felt so welcomed by everyone involved with the club that they decided to donate a trophy in memory of their times there. Forever championing the introduction of youth to the sport, the trophy is called “Quinze” (fifteen) for junior members recognising an aggregate score over a number of competitions during the meeting. Their children Ann, John and Robin, plus John’s wife Sally, will attend the meeting in August this year to present the trophy to the JRA and hopefully to the first winner.
Over the years he won many medals, trophies, tankards, spoons, etc. and he made a coffee table to show his favourite medals and badges which had pride of place in the lounge at home. Home was the bungalow in Rose Green, bought in 1954, in which he lived with Margaret for 58 years until poor health forced their move to the Aldersmead Care Home – also in Bognor – in early February this year.
His other main interest was his garden where he would grow all kinds of vegetables, some of which were not readily available in the shops. He is also well known for being one of the few growers of the original Loganberries and he has sent plants all over the UK with friends to grow their own. There was little need to use a grocer with a garden like his and it was a true testament to his country beginnings – not bad for seaman.
Maurice was an extremely patriotic man and one who fiercely defended royalty, standards, Britishness and being from his home county of West Sussex. Both he and Margaret, a former member of the Womens Royal Naval Service (the WRENS) were proud of their service traditions and they regularly visited occasions like the Royal Tournament and the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. In the last few years he was able to attend, he was proud to lead the Fleet Air Arm marchers during the Remembrance Day march at the Cenotaph.
Five years ago Maurice noticed that he was having difficulty aiming his rifle through the sight – he could not see the whole target. It transpired that he had a life-threatening melanoma (tumour) in his right eye for which the only remedy was to remove the eye. Not a pleasant experience but very soon after he was already joking about how this meant he would only have to pay half price for glasses from now on! He refused to give in to his new disability, finding ways to compensate for the loss of an eye. In particular, he had a special sight fitted to his rifle which allowed him to take his normal position on the firing point (lying down) and aim with his left eye. Results were not as good as before but he was still able to compete at the same level and retain his love of the sport.
A year or so ago it was found that the melanoma had not been completely removed and more were found in his stomach. Tests designed to reveal the best course of action revealed that the cancer had spread to his bones and that he only had 6-9 months to live. Typically, he returned home to care for Margaret whose health was also failing. This he somehow managed to do until January when he was forced to accept that it was beyond him and that they finally needed help. He was admitted for two weeks to St Wilfrid’s Hospice to stabilise his symptoms where he received the best medical and emotional care possible. From there he and Margaret entered Aldersmead where he bravely fought the final battle he couldn’t win.
The family are very grateful for all the support and care provided by St Wilfrid’s Hospice and to all the staff at Aldersmead Care Home especially for the way they have cared for him and Margaret in their time there. Maurice was widely known and respected and he will be missed by many. He leaves his wife of nearly 65 years, Margaret, daughter Ann, sons John and Robin and five grandchildren – Barbara, Alexandra, Richard, Suzanne and James. After such a full life may he forever rest in peace.