Terry Rounce, who died on October 2nd, was introduced to model flying at Fairlop in 1947 at the age of ten by his father. He worked as a pilot for 18 years and was a long term member of Bretons MFC, which he joined in 1982 and had been a past club chairman, as well as secretary for 29 years. He represented his club at London Area committee meetings from the 1980s and it was soon clear that he was a man who was prepared to buckle down and do the work that was needed, rather than just talking about it. This turned out to be the case and Terry threw himself heart and soul into putting back into the sport as much as he had got out of it. He soon played a major part in the Area’s work, serving as treasurer, secretary and chairman, and in more recent years all three at once, due to the lack of support from other clubs.
He was the London Education Co-ordinator and was very much involved with teaching children the basics of modelling and flight through school visits, notably with Dartford Grammar School’s annual Science Week, having more of a grasp of this than some of the teachers. He ran BMFA Dart building and flying sessions at several local schools and used his natural gifts as a teacher to instil in children the same fascination with aviation that he had as a child. For him, seeing the joy in the face of a child who realised that he had actually made something himself that really flew, was ample repayment. In 2008 he was awarded the Roger Bedford Memorial Trophy for his educational work.
Terry was an Area Chief Instructor and an effective chairman of the RC Achievement Scheme Review Committee; he made several improvements to the way it operates during his term of office, seeing it as a route to excellence for people who did not wish to fly in competitions. He and a team of Bretons colleagues were regular helpers on the BMFA stand at Model Engineering Exhibitions, and he did several regular club jobs from maintaining the PA system to cutting the grass on the club strip.
In recognition of Terry Rounce’s long work on behalf of model flying he was elected a Fellow in 2011. He will be very much missed by his many friends in model flying.
Martin Dilly FSMAE