Cliff Russell
It is with much regret that I have to announce the loss of Cliff Russell who sadly passed away Wednesday 20th June. The longer serving members of Concorde MFC will fondley remember him as one of life’s characters. Cliff spent many hours at the field, accompanied by his great friend Frank French. I would often join them there, and I took a great pleasure in listening to Cliff’s stories. He had the great knack of making a story both interesting and funny. You would hang on every word and it would always end with everyone joining in with his ever infectious laugh. Cliff was also a very skilled builder of models. Even the big names in the scale world would seek his advice. We all marvelled at his scratch built Gloster Gladiator. It looked and flew like the real thing. Cliff who was always a willing and helpful member of the club took the Gladiator to a small display which the club had staged at Coit School. I will always remember the kids’s faces as Cliff gradually put the model together, then sat patiently answering the excited questions which followed. His latest project was a quater scale Fairey Swordfish, which is an absolute work of art. Due to ill health Cliff sadly never got the chance to finish this project. Recently I was fortunate eneough to meet up with Cliff, and was pleased to see that he had lost none of his great sense of humour. Frank and I spent a pleasurable couple of hours in his company. We were honoured that he took the time to show us the Swordfish and delighted when he explained the finer detail of his work. The model although un-finished is a monument to his talent. It shows just what a skilled engineer he was. Unfortunately my poor photos do not do his work justice. Cliff you will always be remembered, enjoy an afterlife of clear blue sky and light winds. Your models will be a lasting legacy to a very interesting life.