A RENOWNED old-boy from Nambour High, and one of Australia’s most remarkable aviators, recently received recognition at the launch of his biography, Pat Vickers, 1935-1968, the Man and the Legend, in the auditorium of his old school.
As a lieutenant commander in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Australian Navy, Pat Vickers was the first Australian pilot killed in the Vietnam War. At his memorial service he was described as “A man who had become a legend in his lifetime”.
Pat Vickers was a Sunshine Coast boy and a young cadet in the Air Training Corps at NSHS, when he first experienced the thrill of flying that led to his brilliant career.
Present-day members of the Australian Air Force Cadets, which has continued to parade at the school since Pat’s time, presented a copy of the book to his 92-year-old mother, Agnes.
Co-compilers of the biography are Pat’s cousin Rhonda Vickers Rolevink, of Buderim, and sister Frances Vickers Bryce, of Yandina.
The book contains the recollections of the contributors who knew Pat at various stages of his life, from school student to teacher, and through his Navy career in Australia, Britain and Vietnam. The stories all have one theme in common – “Pat was a very special person”.
One of the contributors, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Benjamin Bathurst GCB wrote: “It was a privilege to have known Pat Vickers. As an aviator of the highest skill, he seemed to me to be all that is best about Australia and Australians.
Proceeds from the sale of the not-for-profit book will be used to establish an annual scholarship as a living memorial to Pat Vickers.
For further information phone 5476 4105 or 5476 5208 after 7.00pm.
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