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When I heard about the Beagle Reunion Day back in June 2005 I was looking forward to meeting some old friends & acquaintances from my time at Shoreham in the 1960s, including Grahame Gates. Unfortunately he was too ill to attend & I was sad to discover that he passed away the following year.

I first met Grahame when I was still at school & spotting on the airport. (Things don't change much & I'm still doing that over 50 years later.) He always waved or stopped for a chat when riding his bike round the perimeter track. He was a keen cyclist & aeromodeller as well as an aircraft enthusiast so we had plenty in common. I discovered later that he was a very talented aerodynamicist working alongside designer George Miles for many years. Following the end of WWII he would have been closely involved with the design of the 4-engined Miles Marathon which coincidentally was the first aircraft I ever flew on. When Miles Aircraft got into difficulties the manufacture of the Marathon was taken over by Handley Page (Reading) Ltd. A later development would become the Handley Page Herald which when re-engined with the Rolls-Royce Dart became a very successful aircraft. He then followed George Miles to Airspeed Ltd at Christchurch where they developed the Ambassador airliner. (Unfortunately this beautiful aircraft became notorious for the accident at Munich 50 years ago this month when many of the Manchester United football team were wiped out.) I'd never noticed it before I started researching this but the Ambassador bears more than a passing resemblance to the Marathon.

I'll let Graham take over the story in his own words. I found this posted on a website some time ago. I can no longer find it so it might have been removed.

[i]"Gates, Grahame (Vero Beach, FL)
Aeronautical engineer for Miles, Handley Page, Airspeed, Beagle, Piper, and Aero Commander

Sorry to hear you've lost a friend Doug, that is always difficult

Good morning...
What a wonderful read Doug and looking forward to part two.

Sorry to hear about his passing, it always hurts a little more when it is a dear friend.

Like so many of his kind he was a successful giant of a man in the old world and the new.

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Thanks for the comments. I don't wish to give the impression that Grahame was a dear friend. My brother-in-law & late father-in-law knew him far better than me. He was an enthusiast & took the time to encourage scruffy kids hanging around the airfield when he could easily have ignored them. He was a very pleasant person & that meant a lot to me.

I was told that there is a library in his memory somewhere in the US so he was well respected there. I just think it's sad that most people on this side of the Pond have never heard of him. This goes for many others who have to go abroad before their talents are recognised. It makes me wonder what the British aircraft industry would be like now if circumstances had been different.

There are questions I would have liked to ask him that only he & a few others could answer. I just wish I'd sent him an E-mail when I first discovered his message on that website. I know he would have responded but it's too late now.

I'll admit the name doesn't ring a bell to me (not that I'm an authority or anything)... interesting read.

I've been meaning to get out to the Piper Museum in Lock Haven one of these days... I'll bet there will be someone at the annual "Sentimental Journey" fly-in who remembers him.

I'll admit the name doesn't ring a bell to me (not that I'm an authority or anything)... interesting read.

I've been meaning to get out to the Piper Museum in Lock Haven one of these days... I'll bet there will be someone at the annual "Sentimental Journey" fly-in who remembers him.

He might have been based at the Florida plant. That's where he retired anyway. http://www.lakelandgov.net/library/speccoll/manuscripts/businesses/piper.html He was also involved with the Sun n' Fun fly-in at Lakeland for many years & received the President's Award in 1993. http://www.sun-n-fun.org/content/interior.asp?section=flyin&body=07FLYIN/chairmanaward

I would grateful for any information. My brother-in-law has a copy of the book by Don Brown he mentioned. I must try to borrow it. A member of the Shoreham Airport Historical Association gave a brief talk on Grahame at a pre-Christmas get-together. He was proposing some sort of memorial to him on the airport. I was promised a copy of his notes so will have to investigate on my next visit.

I'll admit the name doesn't ring a bell to me (not that I'm an authority or anything)... interesting read.

I've been meaning to get out to the Piper Museum in Lock Haven one of these days... I'll bet there will be someone at the annual "Sentimental Journey" fly-in who remembers him.

He might have been based at the Florida plant. That's where he retired anyway. http://www.lakelandgov.net/library/speccoll/manuscripts/businesses/piper.html He was also involved with the Sun n' Fun fly-in at Lakeland for many years & received the President's Award in 1993. http://www.sun-n-fun.org/content/interior.asp?section=flyin&body=07FLYIN/chairmanaward

I would grateful for any information. My brother-in-law has a copy of the book by Don Brown he mentioned. I must try to borrow it. A member of the Shoreham Airport Historical Association gave a brief talk on Grahame at a pre-Christmas get-together. He was proposing some sort of memorial to him on the airport. I was promised a copy of his notes so will have to investigate on my next visit.

LOL; forgot they had that factory. I'm obviously not a "Piper man".