Gordon Hunt, Trustee
Gordon Hunt was born in London and studied with Terence MacDonagh. He performs throughout the world as soloist and conductor and plays with renowned chamber ensembles. He has a distinguished orchestral career, as principal oboe of the Philharmonia Orchestra and The World Orchestra for Peace. He previously held the same post with the London Philharmonic.
Regarded as one of the world’s leading oboists, he has appeared with international orchestras and has established a growing career as a conductor. Over more than four decades he has played concertos and recitals and conducted on six continents.
In 2005 he was honoured to be invited to play Albinoni’s D minor concerto at the Service celebrating the marriage of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and in 2010 was designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace.
He has recorded extensively, including all Mozart’s solo music, and the Richard Strauss concerto, acclaimed in the Penguin CD Guide as the finest version available.
His father Frank was born in the UK and as a child emigrated to New Zealand. Whilst travelling to the UK to join the RAF, his ship The Rangitane was torpedoed and Frank was captured by the Germans having never seen active service. Frank met Larry Slattery in a prisoner of war camp and they shared a love of music, indeed Frank regarded Larry as his closest friend. It is in his fathers’ memory that Gordon is a trustee of the fund.
Squadron Leader Bob Ankerson, Trustee
Bob Ankerson served as a navigator in the Royal Air Force for 34 years, flying in Vulcan bomber aircraft and then in the Tornado GR1 bomber aircraft. While serving on No 17(F) Squadron at RAF Bruggen Germany he deployed to Saudi Arabia and fought in Gulf War One in 1991. During the war he had to eject from his damaged Tornado aircraft and was captured by Iraqi forces and held prisoner of war until the ceasefire was declared. It was through this experience that Bob was invited to join the Royal Air Forces ex-Prisoners of War Association. After several years membership he became a committee member and also became involved as a trustee of The Larry Slattery Fund and the Association’s own charitable fund. He is enthusiastic in his support of the aims of both charities.
Ian Shepherd, Trustee
Ian Shepherd is retired from the Food and Catering Industries and is a trustee of several other funds aimed at supporting those with disabilities or learning difficulties.
Ian is the son of Flight Sergeant Geoff Shepherd who joined the RAF in early 1940, and was shot down in France in 1942 and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of a war, including surviving the “Long March”. Ian spent many years attending Association events with his father, meeting many of its outstanding members. As a son of an ex-PoW and avid supporter of the Association, Cal Younger recruited him and Gordon Hunt to ensure the Fund continued in to the next generation, something Ian is determined to see happen.
Helen Younger, Trustee and Administrator
Helen Younger graduated from Nottingham University with a BA (Hons) in History having specialised in Modern Japanese History. She went to work in the Television industry and is now a TV Producer specialising in Comedy Entertainment across the channels.
Helen is also the granddaughter of Cal Younger, one of the founding members of the ex-Prisoners of War Association and The Larry Slattery Memorial Fund. She grew up listening to stories of the various charities he ran, as well as the war-time experiences of him and his friends, and without realising it at the time was gaining an education in charity administration. She was privileged enough to hear many of the young musicians perform when they came to visit Cal, and so was delighted and honoured to take over the administration of The Larry Slattery Fund and become a trustee when Cal died.
Air Commodore Charles Clarke OBE, President of the Royal Air Forces ex-PoW Association, Chair and Trustee of The Larry Slattery Memorial Fund
The late Air Commodore Charles Clarke OBE, joined the RAF straight out of school as a 17-year-old and went to No 619 Squadron, part of Bomber Command, flying Lancasters. He flew 19 trips as a bomb aimer, six to Berlin before being shot down over Germany in 1944. He was imprisoned in the infamous Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war camp in Zágan, Poland and later had to endure “The Long March”. After the war he continued his RAF career until he retired in 1978 as an Air Commodore. He was the President of the Royal Air Forces ex-Prisoners of War Association, Chairman of the Bomber Command Association, and was a passionate advocate of The Larry Slattery Memorial Fund.
Co-Founder, Cal Younger
The late Cal Younger ran The Larry Slattery Memorial Fund until his death in 2014 at the grand age of 92. He took great delight in helping many young musicians overcome difficulties to realise their musical ambitions and was thrilled whenever he got to see any of them perform.
Born in Australia, he joined the Royal Australian Air Force during the war and came to England. He was a Navigator of No 460 Squadron flying the Wellington bomber. He was shot down west of Paris in May 1942 , age 20. He parachuted to safety and spent a week on the run before he was captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp near Konigsberg before being transferred to Stalag Luft III. During the winter of January 1945, he and his fellow prisoners were forced to endure the “Long March” west as the Soviet forces advanced from the east. They were finally liberated in April 1945.
After the war he remained in England and became an author and historian publishing works including two books on Irish history (Ireland’s Civil War in 1968 and, in 1972, A State of Division) as well as a biography of Arthur Griffiths (1981) and one novel, Less than an Angel (1960). He wrote of his wartime experiences in No Flight from a Cage (1956) and was delighted to have an expanded edition of his book published in 2013 which included the full story of his week on the run after being shot down and many more caricatures and sketches created during his internment.
Cal also tirelessly worked in the charitable sector, determined to free those oppressed by circumstance which came from a mindset determined by his wartime experiences. At one point he was holding the position of trustee or secretary at thirteen different charities. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Air Forces ex-Prisoners of War Association, acting as treasurer and then welfare secretary, and was actively involved in seven charities ,including our Fund, up until his death. He took great delight in his work and his sense of humour and compassion can be read time and time again in our archive of letters to applicants. The Larry Slattery Memorial Fund was certainly one of his favourites and it is with determination that we carry on his work and keep the memory of Larry Slattery alive.
The Larry Slattery Memorial Fund 