Australia lost its leading exponent of aviation safety last Tuesday with the death of Peter Lloyd AC OBE MiD. He was 101 years old.
George Alfred "Peter" Lloyd was a patron, former president emeritus and board chairman of Safeskies Australia. He was also a pilot with 11,000 hours in his logbook, and a qualified balloonist and parachutist.
Above all, Lloyd was a tireless worker for aviation safety and sport aviation both in Australia and abroad.
Early in his aviation career, Lloyd served as treasurer of the Royal Aero Club of NSW and did two stints as president, being credited by some for building the club from a struggling school to a powerhouse of aviation training.
He served as the Treasurer-General of the Federation Aeronautique International (FAI) from 1976 and then FAI president from 1986-88, and as president of the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs Australia (RFACA). He was also a founding member of the Australian Aerobatic Club and until his death was honorary govenor of the Australian Sport Aviation Confederation.
He became a member, freeman, and later liveryman of the London based Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators (now the Honourable Company of Air Pilots) and was chairman of its Australian regional branch in 1975 and 1976.
"Peter’s force-of-being, presence and influence among world leaders or newcomers to aviation alike, combined with his faithful friendship to many, has left an indelible mark on the aviation industry and all who knew him," a Safeskies statement reads.
"His participation in the many sectors of aviation, coupled with his ability to gain the respect and the ear of Australian and international leaders, made him an exceptional advocate not only for Safeskies Australia, but also the many Australian and international organisations he was involved with."
One of his most remarkable efforts was as FAI president, he worked personally with USSR General Secretary Mikhail Gorbechev, US president Ronald Reagan and other world leaders to free German teenager Matthias Rust, who was being held in Moscow after flying his Cessna into Russia illegally and landing it in Red Square.
Lloyd was also one of Australia's most decorated aviators, having been awarded the Oswald Watt Gold Medal twice (1969 and 2016), a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), Order of the British Empire (OBE), the Yuri Gagarin Medal, the Australia Gold Air Sport Medal and the Medal of the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs Australia among the many accolades garnered across his life.
He also served as an artilleryman in WWII, winning a Mentioned in Dispatches (MiD) for gallant and distinguished service in the South West Pacific.
Peter Lloyd left his mark across many aviation organisations and assocations in Australia, and was a life member of several of those. Although he will no longer be around as a sounding board for the many people in the aviation community that sought his advice and counsel, he legacy is so large that it is sure the endure for many years to come.
Vale Peter Lloyd.