A good friend of mine called me up to asked if I’d read the Telegraph … that was a couple of days ago. Anyway, it was to tell me that Jack Holmes’ obituary had appeared. Sorry to say, I hadn’t known that he had died. He and I were both Leigh – on – Sea Sailing Club members many years ago.

The mate and me bought our first boat, Blue Tail, from Jack in 1980. She was, as some will know, a Yachting World Peoples Boat, which Jack had had for many years. The boat was kept off the Chalkwell shore and we maintained that mooring for our first summer after which we took the boat up to a new mooring up Tewkes Creek, Canvey Island, where we had joined a little boat club.

Jack’s Blue Tail in ‘our’ care after she ws sold to us … seen sailing on the River Medway.

We always remember Jack with a certain level of fondness: he didn’t want to let ‘his’ boat go. He gave us a good hand-over, taking us for a long sail on the tide. It was my mate’s first on such a small vessel, having sailed on our good friend’s Peter Duck ketch the previous summer. She loved it … so that was that, Blue Tail became ours!

I knew Jack had been in the air force, but as to his position, I was blissfully unaware. The club affectionately nic-named him, ‘Flying Officer Kite’ … many of the ‘war time’ members had such names: many of them went through together or met on snatched leave periods. Jack was a new man on the block after WW2 – he’d been brought up in the Norwich area and after leaving the RAF moved to Leigh whilst working at Marconi in Chelmsford.

It turns out that Jack reached the rank of Air Commodore and for daring deeds performed with his, I know, usual quiet aplomb, he rescued ditched air crew flying Catalina flying boats. He was awarded a bar to a DFC for one of these exploits.

Approaching Jack’s old berth off Chalkwell … the barge yacht Heron Lee used to be close by.

Jack, your boat did us proud before we had Whimbrel built and Blue Tail was sailed away to the Crouch… The mate hoped you knew of our ramblings up and down your beloved east coast … I hope so too. Today, I sailed over the spot, more or less, where Blue Tail was moored and murmured a few words in memory of you… Rest in peace Jack, rest in peace…