The Association has learned of the death of Lt Cdr Leslie Gervais Mordecai RN on 18 March 2023.
From Records
Leslie was an (E)(SD) who entered the FAA as an RN Aircraft Artificer Apprentice in 1946 at HMS Daedalus. He was promoted S/Lt (AL) in 1958 and served in FAA posts throughout his time in the RN, including 892 NAS, HMS Triumph, HMS Hermes and HMS Centaur.
He retired from the RN AIU as a Lt Cdr in 1983.
Extract from the Eulogy of Lt Cdr Leslie Gervais Mordecai RN:
Dad, Granpa, Great Granpa, Great, Great Granpa. Les to his friends and Sir to his subordinates was born in Pen-y-fai, South Wales in July 1930, joining the Royal Navy as an electrical apprentice aged 15, and then being selected for the Fleet Air Arm branch. He trained in Torpoint and Arbroath, Scotland where he met Dorothy, and they married in 1949. They were married for a glorious total of very nearly 74 years.
Dad rose through the ranks to Lieutenant Commander, and spent many years working on aircraft in Yeovilton, including serving on HMS Centaur with 892 Squadron. Later, he worked in Accident Investigation at HMS Daedalus in Lee on Solent, and was a frequent visitor to RNAS Culdrose. Loud and thrilling Air Days are vivid childhood memories. Retiring from the Royal Navy in 1983, he went on to join BAE (British Aerospace). I am proud to say I have Dad’s occupation as Rocket Engineer on my wedding certificate, impressing kids I teach, no end! As Payload Safety Engineer, he oversaw rocket launches deploying satellites, from Cape Canaveral in the States and Kouroo in French Guyana. Mum, who always accompanied Dad on these missions, said that she has never seen so many men crying together in one room with either collective tears of joy when things went smoothly or with tears of frustration when missions were aborted during the final countdown.