Captain Broom volunteered for the RAF on 23rd June 1941 and, in November that year, travelled to II Group Maxwell Field Albany, Georgia, to train under the Arnold Scheme. He passed basic training with 60 hours on the Boeing Stearman PT17 and Vultee BT13, and North American Harvard AT6, from January to May 1942. A whistle-stop tour of air bases in Alabama followed, before a return to the UK as sergeant pilot to conduct advanced twin-engine training. On to the 6th Advanced Flying Unit, training to become a trainer on the Beam Approach, flying the Airspeed Oxford. With a curious synergy, 1,945 flying hours by 1945, and an exceptional assessment, saw him transferred to active service, at which point the Official Secrets Act kicks in and the intricate details of his own account give way to a single line: 12th March 1945 converted to the Mosquito XVI bomber, which he flew on operations against Germany with 571 Squadron until the war ended. It seems the challenge and thrill of piloting what was, essentially, a piece of balsa wood with two whopping great Rolls-Royce Merlin engines strapped to the wings left an impression; Michaels notes on his postwar duties, flying freight in the Short Stirling Mark V out of Cairo and around the Middle East, include a personal comment from the time how the mighty have fallen. In 1947, Michael joined British European Airways and, after training on the Dakota, made his first commercial flight as first officer from Speke Airport (now John Lennon International) to Nutts Corner Airport (now Belfast International). A few months later, he took his first flight as first pilot in a Dragon Rapide. Over the next two decades, he found himself on the flight deck of a wide variety of machines Dakota, Oxford, Auster, Rapide, Douglas DC-3 Pionair Class and Viscount across the British Isles and Europe. Sense of humour Michael remained remarkably able and clear of mind well into his 90s. On learning that I had been working at an event in the electric motor-racing championship, Formula E, at Tempelhof Airport, he pulled out an old map of Berlin and recalled his part in the Berlin airlift, particularly the extreme angle of final approach if landing from the easterly direction, lest they might start taking pot shots at you. One of his most outstanding qualities was a sharp, often mischievous sense of humour; whenever there were new crew members, he was known to enter the flight deck wearing dark glasses and brandishing a white cane! The log book also mentions a report he was required to write after late arrival that simply read the crew were enjoying their Murray Mints. Recalling ball lightning entering the flight deck of a BAC 1-11, Michael said it singed the top of his hat, adding that it was a good job it was on a hook on the door at the time and not on his head. When told there had been a call to say a bomb was on his aircraft, he remarked that he had carried bombs before. Michael was made an MBE in 1966 for his contribution to air safety. Details of this work carried out while he was chairman of the BALPA Technical Committee are sadly lost. However, we understand he helped redesign and test the ergonomics of the flight deck, pilot harnesses and seats. He also contributed to Flight magazine in the early 1960s, giving pilots early previews of the characteristics of their possible future aircraft, including the Vanguard, Argosy, Avro 748 and Fokker F27. The last five or so years of his working life were spent piloting the BAC 1-11, before he retired in 1975. He served on the committees of the Airways Aero Association and the AVRO Gliding Club. Michael was married for 67 years to Edna Mara Broom, who died in 2014, and they had six children Sandra, Peter, Tony, Ann, Fiona and Julia eight grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. He found joy in his garden, and was a council member of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. We will miss his wit, charm, generosity and gentlemanliness. Im proud to have had such a role model, and thank you for taking the time to get to know him a little. By Tom Wood, Michaels grandson Captain Broom, left, and a colleague inspect the engines O B ITUAR I E S Captain Michael Warwick Broom, MBE (1920-2020)