After Dinner Speakers: Captain Brian Walpole, Bruce King, Chris Rea

Captain Brian Walpole has led the Concorde fleet of British Airways since the beginning of the supersonic era, and he is the mastermind of its commercial success. Captain Walpole first became a pilot with the Royal Air Force at 18, there followed a series of positions with BOAC and BA where in he commanded Concorde on the first supersonic commercial service from London to New York. His achievements were recognised in 1978 when he was awarded the Britannia Trophy, and later in 1983 when he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. In 1985 he was presented the Freedom of the City of London. Then in 1988 he became an Officer in the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Brian Walpole has much to tell about life with the world’s most famous aeroplane.