Wing Commander Rex Sanders RAF (rtd) passed on the 10 May.
This is the initial interview I did with Rex in 1993 about his key participation in a series of top secret overflights over the Soviet Union in 1952 and 1954. This was the first detailed account of these remarkable and remarkably dangerous flights. A wartime member of Bomber Command, he had been the lead navigator on these flights. Rex later interviewed for my BBC TimeWatch Programme ‘Spies in the Sky’ that was broadcast in Feb 1994 and I quoted him at length in my 1996 books Spy Flights of the Cold War (Sutton). Rex passed on in 10 May 2017 and this is a tribute to his understatement and courage. Apologies for the sound quality. It was recorded on the balcony of his home in west Wales. I believe that Rex was the last survivor of the RAF crews that made these flights. In the picture below Rex is to the right of the overalled US commander who trained them on flying the RB-45C and to the left of the RAF commander Squadron Leader John Crampton. The picture below that is the RAF Team at their base of operations – RAF Sculthorpe.
The interview can be found here:
paullashmar.com 