 | Fleet Air Arm |
| Fleet Air Arm |
Updated 22 January 2008
The family of Captain A.H. (Speed) Gordon LVO DFC RAN Retd has announced that Speed passed away on January 8, after a massive heart attack while mowing the lawn.
The funeral was held at St Matthew's Catholic Church, Chewings Street, Page, ACT, on Thursday, January 17, with burial following at the Woden Cemetery.
Speed flew as a navigator with the Air Force in Burma between 1942 and 1946 and then joined the RAN in 1949, serving until retirement in 1972.
He saw service as an 817 Squadron observer in Firefly aircraft operating from HMAS Sydney in Korean waters.
Later service highlights included appointments as Commanding Officer of HMAS Penguin and Executive Officer at HMAS Cerberus, secondment to the Royal Malaysian Navy from 1964-66, and Deputy Director of Navy Intelligence.
He is survived by eight sons, and some will know that Speed's son Andrew has recently taken command of the Anzac Class destroyer HMAS Warramunga, and that he was home at Christmas with the family.
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