Awarded for an outstanding contribution to any sector of General Aviation (all elements of Civil Aviation other than Air Transport), whether in the air or on the ground.

2010 awarded to:  DAVID HAMILTON FRICS 

David Hamilton learnt to fly at Elstree in the early 1960s.  Through the late Neil Williams he became involved with aerobatics at Redhill.   It was not long before his administrative skills coupled with a natural bent at judging, led on to him managing the British Aerobatic Team at the 1968 world championships, which were held at Magdeburg in what was then East Germany.  He continued as team manager in 1969 when the championships were held in the south of France and then again in 1970 at RAF Hullavington.

David and his wife Georgina, who had provided him with invaluable support at all these events, then set up the Hamilton Trophy at Redhill which included navigation, spot landing, flour bombing and balloon bursting.   It was through this that Fred Marsh of the Royal Aero Club asked them to introduce the sport of Precision Flying to the UK.  As a result, in 1976, the Hamiltons took the first UK Precision Flying team to Wels in Austria for the World Championships.  This was followed by participation at the Nordic Precision Flying Championships and the World Championships in the USA, Canada, Poland and elsewhere.

In the meantime, David had been on the FAI General Aviation Commission’s sub-committee for Precision Flying and had helped rewrite the rules.  David was on the jury for precision flying and remarkably because of her close association with the sport, Georgina became the UK judge and in fact the first woman judge in the world for precision flying.   After another World Championship and also a European Championship held in the UK they decided in the late eighties to move on.

David also took over as coordinator of the Dawn to Dusk competition in 1968, a role he has fulfilled ever since.   Chaired until recently by the Duke of Edinburgh, David, ably assisted by Georgina, has steered this international competition to a point where it is not just a matter of flying for at least eight hours between dawn and dusk but where a chosen theme has to be researched, flown with considerable accuracy and a log produced to the very highest standard.

He was President of the Jury for the first Round the World Air Race in 1992 and has been heavily involved with the Royal Aero Club records and racing.   He is also kept very busy as President of the FAI Rotorcraft Commission having represented New Zealand for a number of years.

For close on 50 years, David Hamilton has busied himself to the benefit of many others without recognition or publicity.  His skills as an administrator have enabled others to improve their piloting skills and take on new challenges.  The success of the Dawn to Dusk competition is a fine example of this.  For his outstanding contribution to General Aviation over a prolonged period, David Hamilton is awarded the Guild Sword of Honour.

Previous Winners

1972 J C Ward Esq

1973 Gatwick ATC

1974 Edward Day Esq

1975 Not Awarded

1976 Captain E Thurston

1977 R D Campbell Esq

1978 John H Blake Esq

1979 Not Awarded

1980 Giles Kershaw Esq

1981 H G Pattison Esq

1982 Dick Smith Esq

1983 The Royal Flying Doctors Service of Australia

1984 John Thorpe Esq

1985 Not Awarded

1986 Miss Eve Jackson

1987-88 Not Awarded

1989 Captain J G Green

1990 Not Awarded

1991 Frank E Young Esq

1992 Not Awarded

1993 Hugh M Kendall Esq

1994 The Royal Queensland Aero Club

1995-96 Not Awarded

1997 (Roland) Lovat Fraser Esq

1998 Brian Lecomber

1999 David Ogilvy OBE

2000 Air Vice-Marshal Bertrand 'John' Brownlow

2001 Not Awarded

2002 Government Flying Services of Hong Kong

2003 Captain David Staveley

2004 David William Jupp

2005 WO1 Ronald Jack Watkins

2006 Not Awarded

2007 Not Awarded

2008 Not Awarded

2009 Paul Bonhomme

2010 David Hamilton