I had the good chance to meet Alan in person when he was attending Scale ModelWorld in Telford in the late 90s-early 00s. Very interesting conversation with somebody quite unorthodox and always enthusiast about ship history and modeling.
I also remember the first naval book I bought in the seventies, Ensign 3 on the Flower class corvettes that gave me the taste of shipo modeling.
Bon vent, bonne mer Alan!
Jacques Druel
...after a long illness.
He made a major contribution to our field, and many of those who continue to contribute to our field stand on his shoulders.
I remember as a kid staring wide-eyed at the various Ensign series publications on display at Sky Books in New York City (long since out of business), with their glorious color centerfolds showing the amazing camouflage schemes worn by various Royal Navy ships during WW2. And I recall reading his build series on the USS McCalla (DD-488) that was run by Model Ship Builder in the early 1980s. I was thrilled and inspired.
Little was I to know that I would get to know Alan several decades later, and to be fortunate enough to call him a friend.
In addition to being a prolific author on maritime topics, Alan was a professional ship modeler, building many models over the years for private collectors and museums. One of his biggest customers was Der Scutt, who designed Trump Towers and many other Manhattan skyscrapers.
I will miss him, and our field will miss his contributions.
May he rest in peace - and may his memory be a blessing.
Mike E.
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