Goodbye Aj

This blog, more than anything, is just a form of diary for me to look back on in years to come, so it is right that I document anything significant that happens.  At the weekend, we heard the tragic news that our friend Ajvir Sandhu had died in a light aircraft crash.  I am lucky in my life to have to have dealt with loss only a very small number of times, and these days I rarely saw Aj.  But he was one of the cadets I worked closest with, at a time when the Squadron was arguably at it’s strongest and he was part of the close Alps Team of 2007.  I remember him reading the entire last Harry Potter book on the drive to the Alps (it came out the day before), being a very slow reader, I was in awe.  He was also one of the few to be able to claim that he actually improved the Squadron, and was among the best SNCOs I have worked with.  More importantly, he was one of the very, very few ex-cadets that I consider my friend – most move on and we never see each other again, and naturally so - but I did expect Aj to pop up on occasion for many years to come – I went for a drink with him only at Christmas.  So, infrequent though it was, and usually through the effort of mutual friends, it is odd to think I’ll never see him again. 

I also remember Aj’s passion for flying and the RAF and I was really pleased when I heard that he was streamed for Fast Jet, not that I ever really expected anything else.  In such tragic times maybe one can draw slight solace from the fact that he was enjoying life and his job to such a degree that he chose to do exactly the same thing in his spare time – not many of us can claim that.  He would have gone very far in the RAF, but in a life cut all too short, Aj experienced a lot, and clearly touched a lot of people judging by the social media comments – I guess, because he was such a genuinely nice guy.

Our thoughts are with Aj’s mother, father and sister. Rest in peace, Aj.

Aj, and someone's washing, in the Alp, 2007

Aj, front left

Aj liked climbing but I think he liked flying more