John Farley served in the RAF as a fighter pilot before attending the Empire Test Pilots’ School.  He was posted to RAE Bedford where he flew experimental jets including the Hawker P 1127, the forerunner of the Harrier V/STOL ground attack fighter.  He joined Hawker Siddeley in 1967 and rose to become the chief test pilot.  Throughout his 19 years with the company (later part of British Aerospace) he concentrated on the development of the Harrier and Sea Harrier and played a key role in obtaining export orders, in particular to the US Marine Corps.  He was awarded the AFC and appointed OBE.

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