The son and daughter of former Whitchurch businessman and passionate air pilot, Ray Grocott, who passed away in 2023, have provided funding to five young people to support their ambitions to gain a pilot’s licence at Shropshire Aero Club in Sleap, near Wem.
Through their family foundation, David and Linda Grocott launched the Ray Grocott Bursary Award which is aimed particularly at younger members of the club who may find the cost of flight training a barrier.
Young pilots at the club were invited to submit their CVs and a statement to explain why they felt they should receive an award. Candidates were then invited to attend an interview with David and Linda, and Club Chairman, Paul Latham.
They were so impressed with the calibre of the five interviewees that David and Linda took the decision to present a £1,000 award to each of them: Ryan Chahal, Chloe Downes, James Hebson, Archie Holland and Isaac Ridge.
Linda Grocott joined Paul Latham at Shropshire Aero Club to present the awards to three of the prospective pilots, Ryan Chahal, James Hebson and Archie Holland. She said, “When we met and chatted to the applicants, and became aware of their passion to fly, we felt they were all worthy of our support. It has been inspirational to meet young people with real purpose and with the ambitious goal of obtaining a pilot’s licence. Learning to fly is an expensive and time-consuming journey and we couldn’t be happier to support them on their way.
“Our father Ray simply loved flying. He gained his licence back in 1973 and spent many happy days here at the Shropshire Aero Club where he was a member for 50 years. He would have so enjoyed meeting our five award winners and we are very proud to make this positive contribution in his memory.”
In response, Paul Latham said, “We are hugely appreciative of the generous financial support that David and Linda have given to our five young people which will provide a significant boost to their training programmes.
“Learning to fly gives people lifelong pleasure, as it did for Ray, and we are so lucky to have so many young people at the club who are keen to follow in his footsteps.”
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