When John Kilburn laughingly says that he has served ‘a life sentence in aviation’ he is not entirely joking. His connection with things aeronautical began in 1943 when he joined the Royal Air Force. He trained as a signaller and in that capacity served throughout the war and afterwards until 1947.

In common with many former RAF aircrew he then went on to fly with civilian airlines and served as a Radio Officer until ill-health forced him to quit flying duties in 1957.

Then came a change of career, but nevertheless he managed to maintain his aeronautical connections by retraining as an air traffic controller, a profession he would remain in for another 30 years – many of them spent in the ‘Ivory Tower’ at Blackpool aerodrome, where he became Senior Air Traffic Controller (SATCO) in 1965, a position he retained for 16 years until volunteering to stand down in order to enjoy the relatively quiet life of a regular ATC until retirement in 1987.

John became a well-known figure at Blackpool airport and his voice familiar to thousands of pilots with whom he communicated during his many years at the famous seaside resort's 'other' tower.

From 1987 to 1995 he came out of retirement to become a part-time ATC at RAF Woovale, near Southport, finally retiring after 52 years in aviation.

In this informative and entertaining memoir he shares many experiences with his readers and gives a fascinating glimpse ‘behind the scenes’ into what is, to the uninitiated, the unknown world of air traffic control, taking in, alongthe way, many other aspects of his long and varied connection with things aeronautical.