Roles in the Voluntary Sector

His final school report stated that he “approached Sixth Form history in too cavalier a fashion”, which put paid to Oxbridge and a career in the Foreign Office. Instead, Sandy volunteered to join the Fleet Air Arm to train as a Fighter pilot. The after effects of a near-death experience with Meningitis grounded him, and he re-trained as an Air Traffic Control Officer, specializing in using precision radar to talk down pilots in low visibility landings. In January 1957, re-acting to a May-day call from a squadron desperately short of fuel, he risked a Court Martial, and a potential charge of Manslaughter to save the lives of 8 pilots  when dense fog surrounded the airfield; in the words of one pilot, “our only other alternative was to do a   Martin Baker” descent into the Irish Sea.”

 

Concurrently to his career in industry, and persuaded by his love of the sea, he volunteered for a course on Minesweeping in the Royal Naval Reserve. His ship was subsequently assigned to NATO, where amongst other tasks he led a team which swept mined areas in the Straits of Dover to widen the channel for commercial shipping. Two years later his team helped to clear the waters off the Dutch and German Friesian Islands to ensure greater safety for the coastal fishing fleets. He was later awarded the Reserve Decoration. He remained at sea until retiring in 1986. He is now Chairman of the London Association of Reserve Naval Officers.

  

After the tragic death of their eldest daughter, Sandy and his family formed the Diana Ford Trust to fund research into the causes of brain tumours, which subsequently joined with the Trustees of three other charities to form Brain Tumour Research, of which he is now Life President.  

 

Amongst his other interests, he is also Vice President of The Beaconsfield Society and Chairman of the Beaconsfield Community Association. Conscious of the problems of Social Isolation, the Association provides weekly lunches for any resident of the Town over the age of 60, or disabled. It also has in the past year made arrangements for some 50 pre-sixth form students to visit (a) the University of Reading to be inspired with the opportunities which University education can provide, and (b) to visit local factories to allow potential apprentices to expand their horizons before deciding on their future careers.

​

In the Queen’s birthday Honours List for 2020, he was awarded the British Empire Medal.