Dick Hayes died in July, 2010, aged 88. He was a loyal OP throughout his life and attended the Reunion in 2009 at the Royal Yacht Squadron of which he was a member. Ian Shuttleworth represented the OP Society at the memorial service at Trinity Church, Cowes, Isle of Wight on July 15.
The address at the memorial service was given by Peter Cartwright. In his words: "Dick was a hero and a great business leader, with an insatiable appetite for life... His life and career can be summed up by three words - engineer, aviator, entrepreneur.”
On leaving the NCP Dick went to Dartmouth at the start of World War 11. He graduated as an engineering sub-lieutenant and joined HMS Jamaica based in Scapa Flow, later serving in the convoys to Murmansk in Russia. He was posted to HMS Mauritius just before D-Day. Soon after Mauritius was engaged by three German destroyers and holed by a shell on the waterline; Dick, aged 23, was damage control officer and played a key part in fighting the fire and plugging the hole for which he was Mentioned in Dispatches. At the end of the war he joined the Fleet Air Arm and underwent pilot training, subsequently flying off aircraft carriers in Fireflies.
In 1947 Dick took over the naval repair base at Pembroke Dock. Pembrokeshire was to be his base for the rest of his working life. Troubles with the boiler makers in the yards ultimately caused this business to be closed so Dick then formed Marine & Port Services to provide services to oil companies who used the terminal at Milford Haven. Later he formed Haven Automation, a company which helped to automate ships. It was during this period that having his own aeroplane, a twin-engined Dornier, came into its own as he was able to visit his various factories around the UK very efficiently.
Flying was in Dick's blood as was sailing, skiing, swimming, saunas and amazing parties in the barn at his home Four Ashes. He married Chinch Shelley, a Wren he met when stationed in Plymouth, before D-Day and she survives him together with his children. At Four Ashes “there was never a dull moment.” Peter Cartwright concluded his Address: "Dick was certainly a successful and dynamic business leader who worked incredibly hard and was a perfectionist in everything he did. As a result of his vision and drive he created numerous companies and gave employment to hundreds of people. But he was so much more than that...he will be sorely missed."