Charlie

Pilot Charlie, although born in North Yorkshire, England, has spent the last 50 years in New Zealand which he views as his home. He was only 21 when he left the UK to come to NZ.

His current favourite album is “If You Wait” by London Grammar, the opening song of which gives him goosebumps. Otherwise, it’s “Here Comes The Sun” by the Beatles – of course, it is for a lad born not that far away from Liverpool (in the global sense)!

Charlie was interested in becoming a volunteer pilot because, in addition to the pleasure that riding brings, the sense of freedom and his observations in the E-Bike group that he co-founded in 2017 in which he sees the group members grow in confidence, he also has a good friend John, who had a trike built so John could take his wife out for rides.

Charlie would invite 2 very special guests to dinner – his Mam who died when he was 18, and his Dad who passed away in 1978. In his own words, Charlie says…
“So I never felt that I knew my parents as an adult. The family learnt years later that my dad was torpedoed during World War 2 when he was only 21 years old. We never knew. So I would like to talk about that”. Billy Connolly and Spike Milligan would be the other two guests “just for the entertainment value” says Charlie. He might even invite you to share his special dinner if you bring the dessert!

Charlie comments to others who are considering becoming a pilot are: “Give it a go. You don’t have to be a pilot, and if you find riding’s not your thing there are other roles that you can do”. Be like Charlie – come and join the team and be a volunteer with CWA Napier.

We’re looking for kind people like you. There are also opportunities to help out, by being a companion rider or without having to pedal, such as helping with social media, administration etc.