It is with great sadness that I post on the Forum that Alex Henshaw died in his sleep last night. He was 94 and looking forward, as ever, at new projects. Michael Turner and I were with him on Thursday and he was in excellent spirits, apart from his great concern for one of his beloved dogs (Purdey) who was under the weather.
Alex was one of the greatest pilots of all time. His pre-war record breaking flights have gone down in history and some of them will never be broken. His remarkable wartime career with Vickers Supermarine, flying Spitfires, Lancasters and other types as required made him a legend. He never lost his love for flying and was delighted when he was able to fly in the two-seat Spitfire, which he took control of once airborne, on more than one occasion recently.
Alex Henshaw will always be remembered by all aviation minded people.
We send our deepest sympathy to his son Alex Jnr and his family.
The funeral will be family only. Please respect Alex's wishes.
Francois Prins
I read his book 'The Flight of the Mew Gull' several years ago and for anyone who's interested in aviation, it's a real treat. I've often thought of replicating the flight in FS.
Rest in peace Alex, you were one of this country's aviation greats!
I can also recommend his sequel (sort of) called Sigh for a Merlin which describes his work at Castle Bromwich on Spitfire production. Lots of very interesting photo's in this book.
I had the pleasure of meeting Alex about ten years ago. He was a very charming gentleman and will be sadly missed.
A great man but an incredible innings of 94 years, considering what he acheived. I met himt once at Tangmere when the Spitfire Society paid a visit, very unassuming chap.
