A PILLAR of the Farnham community and veteran of 39 bombing missions over Nazi Germany before his 21st birthday has died aged 92.

Howard Thomas Murley was born on September 9, 1923, in London and grew up in the capital with his younger sister and parents.

A keen athlete during his time at Stationers’ Grammar School, he was particularly successful in field sports and as a member of the school football team.

Aged 16 at the outset of the Second World War, he was evacuated to Cambridgeshire for a year before embarking on a long military career first with the RAF University Air Squadrons.

He trained as a pilot with the Royal Air Force in Canada and gained his wings at 19, entering straight into RAF Bomber Command where he flew mostly the Avro Lancaster and occasionally Short Stirling heavy bombers.

Responsible for a crew of seven people despite his tender age, Wing Commander Murley flew 39 missions during the RAF’s strategic bombing campaign, mainly over Germany and northern France, in which 44 per cent of all British airmen perished.

In recognition of his wartime service, Howard was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for ‘acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations’.

Following the war Howard trained as a test pilot and became heavily involved in the Avro 707 delta-wing programme that would eventually lead to the introduction of the Avro Vulcan into RAF service in 1956.

He later received the Air Force Cross in recognition of his contributions to flying in peacetime, and it was also through his career as a test pilot that Howard met his future wife Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Turner during a secondment with the US Navy in Maryland, USA in 1949.

They married in September 1950 at All Saint’s Church, Newport, Rhode Island, where Betty’s father, also a serviceman with the US Navy, was based at the time and soon relocated to the UK when Howard’s secondment came to an end.

Their first daughter, Marcia, was born in 1952 followed by Nancy in 1954, both of whom are now retired doctors, and the family bought their first house in Farnham in 1967, close to Howard’s then-base at Farnborough.

Howard was again posted to the USA in 1972 and the couple remained in the States after Howard took early retirement from the RAF in 1975 and secured a civilian job with an engineering company in Mississippi where Betty’s family originates.

But in 1990 they agreed it was time to “return home” to Farnham, where their children had remained, and eventually settled on their present-day home in Old Frensham Road.

Howard joined the Rotary Club of Farnham and was later awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship in recognition of his work with the charity with whom he remained an active member until his death.

He was also a founding member of the Wey Valley Probus Club, and served on the local resident’s association as well as regularly attending services at St Martin’s Church.

Howard died at home on May 31, 2016, after a long battle with cancer. His funeral at St Thomas-on-the-Bourne Church on June 17 was attended by almost 200 people, and he is survived by his wife Betty, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

“Howard was a very modest man and was very much loved by everybody”, said Betty.

“He was very determined, loving and gentle, funny, kind and caring. He had lots of friends and I have received almost 200 letters of condolences from all around the world since his death.”

Fellow Rotarian Roland Davies also paid tribute to his old friend. “In the sanctity of friendship I remember Howard. His friendship was genuine. You could rely on this man and his word was his bond.

“In his Rotary years all of this remained as his hall-mark. He was particularly successful in organising public-speaking competitions for local schools. He knew how to inspire others to perform.

“Howard remains as a man of exceptional judgement and sensitivity that we shall never forget. Thank God for the privilege of knowing such a gentleman.”

George Alford, the incoming president of the Rotary Club of Farnham, added: “Howard had been a member of the club for over 25 years and was made a Paul Harris Fellow in recognition of his support for the community.

“Paul Harris was the founder of the Rotary movement and these fellowships are only awarded to those who have made a particular contribution to the local community.

“He remained an active member of the club, attending the weekly lunch and participating in the discussions on a regular basis, and will be remembered for his gentle dignity and humour as well as for his extraordinary achievements.”