Peter Henry Hoare  92^nd

31^st July 1943  -  22^nd October 2013

Pete was born in Gillingham, Kent, the son of a Navy CPO Artificer.

He joined the 92^nd RAF Apprentices on 22^nd May 1959 aged 15. Though young, he qualified for training in the coveted ground radar class and passed out three years later with accelerated promotion to corporal.

His first posting was Syerston, before serving at La Buan Island, Borneo, for a year. Posted to RAF Patrington in early 1967 to install a TACAN Beacon, he met his life partner Louise and they were married in early 1968. Pete was sent to Locking on a course and then to RAF West Drayton where he helped to build the new Air Traffic Control System.

At West Drayton their son Christopher was born in 1968 and while Pete was on a Bloodhound course at RAE Newton, their daughter Victoria was born before he was moved on to RAF Bruggen in Germany. It became a family joke that whenever Louise announced she was pregnant Pete would be sent on a 9 month course! Sadly their daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 1976 and died within six months.

 

Pete was accepted on an OCTU course and was commissioned as a Flying Officer in November 1978 and posted back to West Drayton. In 1982 he was posted to MATO, RAF Uxbridge as a Flight Lieutenant.

Pete decide to leave the RAF in 1983 and, after working three years notice, he retired in 1986. Pete and Louise bought a house in Denham and Pete got a job as Marketing Manager with STC, selling communications equipment to the armed forces.

He was very successful at STC (later Nortel) and sold systems to the Navy for the new frigate fleet, the submarines being built at Barrow; to the RAF for TCW and to the Canadian and Dutch Air Forces.

Pete began to think of retiring and bought a piece of land in a little village just outside Limassol, Cyprus, in 1992. Nortel kept asking him to do just one more job but in 1998 Pete was determined to retire as he would be 55 and entitled to his RAF pension. Nortel made him redundant (as they had been promising to do) so they sold their house and went to live in Cyprus.

Life was good in Cyrus but unfortunately in late 2005 Pete was diagnosed with cancer. He had a major operation and 6 weeks of radiotherapy in England, before going back to Cyprus. He came back to the UK for checkups, and the 92nd and RAFLAA reunions, which he loved.

In 2011 Pete and Louise decided it was probably best if they came back to the UK. Pete went to see his consultant as he had been experiencing problems and he was told the cancer had returned. He had a huge operation that lasted 12 hours which left him with problems swallowing and having to feed through a peg tube.

He did well until July 2013, when he started to become very unwell. On the 19th October he was taken into Treliske Hospital Intensive Care Unit where he died on 22nd October. Louise and Christopher were with him at the end.

Pete had many interests including building his own loudspeakers and driving a steam train. He has flown a plane and done some motorbike and sidecar motor cross. A friend in Cyprus was an art teacher and she taught Pete to draw and paint. He proved to be a very talented water colourist..

Pete was a good man, husband and father. We are all the poorer for his passing and I am proud to have called him my friend.

Chris Tett