We have been advised that Donald Marshall Simpson, late of Little Hartley (NSW) passed away on 1 January 2025 at the age of 94 after a short illness.

Don was born on 18th March 1930 and  he lived in the western suburbs of Sydney till 1951. After finishing High School at Homebush Boys High, at the age of 15, Don gained and indentured apprenticeship  with a Company at Mascot to become and Electrical Fitter. He regularly  rode his bicycle each day to and from Concord West to Mascot.

After finishing his Apprenticeship, Don was employed at the Small Arms Factory at Lithgow till he joined the RAN in November 1953, age 23, on an initial engagement of 8 years.  Having completed his recruit training at HMAS Cerberus he was posted to HMAS Albatross, where he qualified as an Electrical Fitter with a high pass mark of 82%.

He served on the East Coast and in Sydney based ships for the next 22 years, extending his service twice to do so, before paying off as a Warrant Officer in November 1975. During that time he also enjoyed two overseas postings to USA and England for training and installation of equipment on Wessex helicopters.

On retiring from the RAN in November 1975 Don moved to Noosa Heads with his second wife, Connie, where they lived for 17 years. During this time he was employed as an Electrician working on many new buildings and homes on the Sunshine Coast. But he also found time to enjoy his great love of travel,  and had several holidays to England and Europe.

In 1993 Don and Connie moved to England so they would be closer to Connie’s relatives. They settled in the lovely County of Somerset . After Connie passed away in 2001, Don decided to return to Australia to be with his three grown children and family.  He spent the remaining years living a very good and healthy life at Little Hartley on his daughter’s property. He was still able to  enjoy his overseas travel and had several holidays  to UK with his daughters, and 3 wonderful trips with his son.

 In June 2010 Don took his 3 children on a nostalgic visit to HMAS Albatross where they enjoyed visiting the Museum and the Wall of Service, also a drive around the married quarters and School where they lived after Don joined the Navy.

Don was a long-term member of the Fleet Air Arm Association of Australia, and is survived by his three children Christine, Robyn and John.

(with thanks to Don’s daughter, Robyn)