TRIBUTE TO IAN BRUTON

written by a long term friend and a fellow Member, Wg Cdr Kieron Shaw.

Members will be saddened to learn of the recent passing of Ian Bruton, who had been an active member of the RAF Club since commissioning from Cranwell in 1971. Ian passed away on 20th May 2022 at the age of 71.

Ian joined the Service, as a member of the Administrative Branch, in 1971 whilst still at university. After initial and professional training at Cranwell, he had a number of tours, which included Swanton Morley in Norfolk and Tongeren in Belgium, the latter being a NATO support agency.

He and I first met when we arrived as young squadron leaders at the same time at Waddington in Lincolnshire, just over 40 years ago. At the time Waddington operated 44 Vulcan bomber aircraft, had some 2,000 people working at the base, was participating in the Falklands War and was supposed to see the aircraft replaced with a new and technologically much advanced machine. Ian’s responsibilities included the institutional management of all the people and the management of the finances. And, in this busy setting, Ian and I completed our respective handovers and took ownership of two adjacent offices in the Station Headquarters.

Despite the many demands, Ian, who had moved into one of the local houses with Anne (Victoria and Mary had not at the time been born) coped magnificently.  He was always friendly and approachable, diligent, scrupulously fair, deeply engaged and a good friend to many. Everyone recognised that he was a complete gentleman. Over the next two and a bit years, Waddingon proved to be the happiest station that many of us ever served at and that and the tremendous sense of purpose that it generated are among my overriding recollections of the time.  There is no doubt that in the main people-management post, with wide responsibilities for welfare, Ian was one of the main architects of this situation.  Inevitably there were occasional surprises, but Ian just coped well with all of them.  And, in resolving this and a number of other unexpected issues, Ian could have turned several into cause celebres. He never did and everyone concerned emerged with respect for their intentions and hopes and their dignity largely intact. And this was one of Ian’s unfailing hallmarks.

Ian was always very well supported by Anne, and I remember that trips to the theatre were always important to him. And despite working hard, we found time for humour and for much irreverent speculation.  And after two and half years, in 1984, our time at Waddington was up and we disappeared in different directions. However, we always kept in touch.

At the beginning of 1989, we were both moved for three years to the Headquarters of Royal Air Force Germany, which was co-located with the HQ of the BAOR. Ian took the post of Deputy Command accountant. By that time he and Anne had been joined by Victoria and Mary.  I was working in a different branch, but our offices were in adjacent corridors and we saw each other frequently. The Cold War was still in progress and the Command had a reputation for hard work, efficiency and operational excellence. And with more experience, Ian had become even stronger and his hallmark qualities were more pronounced.  Whilst he was there, Sadaam Hussein invaded Kuwait, threatened Saudi Arabia and the first Gulf War started.  Many of the Germany front line squadrons were sent to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and making the arrangements for them took much of his time and efforts. And, in addition to his primary responsibilities, he was selected as the President of the Mess Committee of the RAF Officers Mess. Ian patiently, tolerantly and with good grace, went to the Mess every  working lunch time and on every occasion that there was an official function in progress. 

He also achieved a relative first. At the time a number of the RAF front line squadrons used to participate in realistic air combat exercises hosted by the United States Air Force at the large ranges situated in Nevada. The squadrons used to participate for 2 weeks but it could often take a month before some of those who had travelled reappeared.  As a rule, those on these exercises were protective about who accompanied them because Las Vegas was on the doorstep and many had to be accommodated in hotels in the city. As the number of creative financial claims from the participants was proving increasingly contentious, Ian suggested that he should visit whilst an RAF squadron was taking part. He showed me the case for doing so. And I remember that his proposals seemed audacious. They were along the lines of “it was necessary for someone who was totally independent to do this. And, it would be necessary to stay at Las Vegas and to see first-hand the quality of the accommodation and the off-duty recreation that was available in this city. It should take a team of 6 to undertake all the work, but given their diligence, it could be completed by two from the Command Accounts Branch in a period of two weeks”. And there was the claim that “the outcome would undoubtedly be of immeasurable benefit to future participants and the RAF as a whole”. Not surprisingly, the case made no specific reference to the bars, clubs, restaurants, theme parks and other places that would have to be visited to ensure that there would be institutional benefits from the trip. So Ian went and eventually returned.  His colleagues in the Headquarters were deeply envious for a long time after the trip and, to accompany the deep suntan, he seemed, strangely enough, to have had a thoroughly relaxing time. And, in the meantime, life in Germany was very enjoyable. He loved family trips to the Ardennes, to places on the Rhine and to southern Germany, all of which were just a short or a modest drive away.

We both left Germany in 1992, Ian to go to RAF Linton on Ouse in Yorkshire. Once again, we kept in touch. Some years later, after also completing a tour at Northwood, he was appointed, as a group captain, to be the Inspector of RAF Recruiting. And, then in 2002, he told me that he was going to retire early and was looking to work at an independent school. I had already made the same move some years earlier and he asked if I would be one of his referees when he applied for the bursar’s appointment at Brentwood school. I did that and was very pleased to hear that he had been appointed.

For a number of years afterwards I used to see him regularly at conferences and training sessions and we used to catch-up on the families and life generally. And, his selfless approach was still evident because, despite retiring from the RAF, he continued, on a voluntary basis, to provide help to the RAF community. One example of this is that, from 1994 until 2017, he was a trustee of the Royal Air Force Club and for a number of years chaired the Finance Committee at the Club. It was a difficult time to do this because many military posts were being moved from London and the Club had relied on the London military presence to generate much revenue. And Ian was one of those who devised the strategy to enable the Club to cope successfully with this situation.  

Ian was throughout his life a complete and very likeable gentleman. He was devoted to Anne, Tori, Mary, his sons-in-law and his grandchildren. He was a loyal colleague, a good friend with a wicked sense of humour and was a staunch member of the ex-RAF community. And all of these long-term relationships and loyalties were important to him and he showed that, no matter what else was underway.

Rest in peace, old friend.