Peter Corby

He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve after leaving school and served as a flight engineer with No.

Corby was inspired by a meeting with an aeronautical engineer who had developed electrical heating systems for the Concorde supersonic aircraft.

The family middle name came from the surname of Peter Corby's great-great-great grandfather William, husband of Sarah Siddons.

[2] John Corby began a business, bearing his name, that, from 1930, sold valet stands on which men's suits could be hung.

The squadron, and Corby, were transferred to RAF Transport Command after the war and converted to Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft.

[1] Corby was appointed a pilot officer in the RAFVR training branch on 26 October 1949 [3] He resigned his commission on 4 June 1951.

[1] The business was inherited by the company's works manager but Corby spent the next ten years gradually buying it from him.

[2] Corby by chance met an aeronautical engineer involved in the design of the supersonic Concorde passenger aircraft.

He had devised a means of electrically heating the aircraft's moveable nose cone to prevent freezing at high altitudes.

[1] A keen sailor, Corby made several Atlantic crossings in the 1970s, making use of navigational techniques learnt in the RAF.