Page 16 - RADC 2023

George Howard Hilder
31st October 1929 – 2nd August 2023
Col JH Hardy L/RADC
George’s funeral was held on the 29th August 2023 at the Royal Garrison Church of All Saints, Aldershot. It was, as one would expect, very well attended by his family, some of his many friends and colleagues and a good representation from members of the Royal Army Dental Corps who had known and served with George.
I first met George, when I was posted to Aldershot in the early 1980s and George, at the time, was running a very successful civilian dental practice in Yateley. One
of his additional roles was as Chairman
of the local branch of the British Dental Association with our dental postgraduate evening meetings being held at Frimley Park Hospital. George always seemed to be able to attract very interesting speakers and in those days he was not constrained by the rather narrow choice of topics, now required by the General Dental Council (GDC) to ensure fulfilment of mandatory Continuing Professional Development targets. The meetings were very well attended, friendly social occasions, helped by provision of wine and always a first class sit down buffet supper. Quite often one could not help noticing the evening’s speaker becoming rather agitated; perhaps they were concerned that they might not be in time to catch their last train back to London?
It was on one of these occasions that George, with a broad grin on his face, asked me if I thought he might be too old to join the RADC. At the time I had no idea how old George was but realised he was probably quite a lot older than the usual recruit to
the Corps and thought he must be in his fifties. Not wishing to discourage him, however, I suggested he write to the Army Medical Directorate and provided him with the contact details. The rest, as they say,
is history. Thus I feel I have to take some responsibility for George’s three year short service commission in the RADC and was delighted when his family agreed to my suggestion that his Obituary be published in the RADC Bulletin.
There were two eulogies given at his funeral which I have tried to precis and to combine; the result follows:
George was described by his daughter Alison as someone who was contrary, opinionated, flirty and fun. He was a force to be reckoned with, an honourable and loyal friend. He was a humanitarian and always put the needs of his patients before a desire to make money.
He was a talented musician with the 14 RADC BULLETIN 2023
ability to play anything from Ragtime to
My Old Man’s a Dustman. He would wake his young daughters up on a Saturday morning at 7 am. playing “Oh I do like to be beside the seaside” at full volume on a 3
tier harpsichord calling out “Come on get
up you’re wasting the day!!” Family was everything to George. He was devoted to Pam his wife, a proud father to his daughters Alison and Vicki, and grandfather to his four grandchildren.
George was a man of many parts and talents, a dentist, a pilot, a sailor a very good squash player a cyclist and, later in life, a soldier.
George was privately educated at St Paul’s School in London and this was quickly followed by National Service in the Royal Air Force where after basic and trade training he was stationed at RAF Hulavington in Wiltshire as a radar technician. Here much to his delight, he had the joy of flying in the crew of an Avro Lancaster developing the radar sets.
After his National Service George had a serious accident riding his motorbike, the consequences of which shaped the rest of his life. He spent a year in hospital while the doctors tried to save his leg but eventually he had to have his left leg amputated below the knee. Not daunted by this misfortune he became a mature student, first at a college to pass his matriculation and then at Newcastle Dental School where he qualified as a dentist; there he sported a large moustache. Getting around on his “wooden leg” as he would call it he launched himself into his dental career.
Flying was an obsession with George. He was a proud and active member of the Tiger Club and at one time, a member of their acrobatic team putting on displays at various air shows around the country. He loved flying all over England and the continent.
George was, despite his “wooden leg” a most amazing squash player and anyone who played him will remember his ferocious forehand.
I had been correct in my original age estimation of George. He was fifty when he was accepted into the RADC as a Major
on a Short Service Commission (SSC). He was posted to Dusseldorf in Germany. I am reliably informed that members of the ‘big army’ who came into contact with George found him a very interesting, complex character who never quite looked too comfortable in uniform and no doubt was an education to them when they had to realise
not everyone wished to conform to all the army rules and regulations to get on very well in life! Yes, George was a real character and a loveable eccentric.
At the end of SSC he returned to UK and took up his old way of life again. Dentistry, squash, flying and also cycling which for most people would probably have been enough? Not George. In his late 80’s he bought a Mini Countryman car and took it for a spin down to Hayling Island. On his way back he gave the car full throttle and drove back up the A3 at 85 – 95 MPH. Recounting this story to a friend who replied “if you’re caught doing that sort of speed at your age, they’ll take your licence away. George’s reply was “Have they got no sense of humour?”
Finally I was reminded of another
amusing anecdote by a colleague of mine from the RADC relating to one of George’s flying exploits. Flying high one day in his aeroplane the engine began to misbehave. George realised that he needed to find somewhere, fairly quickly, to try and land the plane safely. Looking down from his vantage point he saw the ideal spot and managed
to land the plane, safely, on the Victoria Memorial walkway. He had succeeded in landing his spluttering plane in front of Old College at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Cadets who, at the time were rehearsing for the Sovereign’s Passing out Parade were delighted to have a break from ‘square bashing’ while a contingent of Royal Military Police quickly surrounded George’s plane and hurriedly removed him from the scene for interrogation.
May George rest in peace.
RADC PEOPLE