My father, Sydney Alan Sharp was born in Derby, England in 1919. He was drafted into the British Royal Air Force in March 1940, after the Second World War had begun in Europe. He was initially an accountant with the RAF but quickly began training as a bomber pilot, graduating from the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada with the rank of Sargent. He was transferred to navigation training where he did tactical nighttime photographic reconnaissance flying over Germany. He completed 35 ops with the 69 Squadron. He was discharged at the end of the war with the rank of Flying Officer.
After the war ended, he transitioned into commercial flying becoming a navigator then a navigation instructor for British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) for 25 years. Most of his career, he flew the Boeing 707. After his retirement, he flew for Aer Lingus and Zambian Airways. In the early days of transatlantic flying, the main airport was in Bristol, as planes began to fly greater distances, the airport was moved to London.
My father was fortunate to have been trained by the RAF, served his country bravely and went on to have a meaningful career seeing the whole world. His attention to detail was meticulous and his ability to understand mathematics and physics was an inspiration to me. Math was one of my best subjects at school, and I knew that I would go into some kind of science. He had an amazing memory, and he just seemed to know everything. He was always the first to find the clues when we went on car rides and played “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with …”. I couldn't understand how he could look out for things hidden and drive at the same time.
As his daughter, I learned from him that we should do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not because of the consequences of getting caught. Because he was a navigating officer for BOAC, we traveled to many different countries when I was growing up. Before we left, my brothers and I always had “the lecture” on how to behave because we may be the only people from England that some people would see. It was important to him that England be portrayed favourably throughout the world. I was fortunate that our trips to Australia and Hong Kong were long enough for us to live in apartments in the community and not near other British people just like me. I was exposed to other cultures, and for that I will always be grateful. I was fascinated by other languages, beliefs and customs. I took it upon myself to write detailed accounts about many of the places we visited, including very detailed maps. Naturally, I was the daughter of a navigator.
After I moved to America, his flights sometimes brought him here long enough to able to visit me; he also phoned me every time he was in the country. I am thankful that he and my mother were able to come to see me every year; one time he even flew over on the Concorde. He was a great grandad, and enjoyed taking my children to the park. He died way too young, during surgery when he was only 76 years old. I didn't get to say “Goodbye”, I felt I'd lost a great teacher. Now when I fly British Airways, I think about my dad and his legacy.