It is with sadness that I write upon the death of David George Watt (aged 63) who was killed in an air crash on 5 May 2011, at Kirkby Stephen. He was piloting a plane he had built himself and flown for many years.

David was a man of many talents, proud of his Scottish ancestry and of his late father's flair for engineering and invention, which David inherited. Born in Aberdeen, from the age of 12 he was brought up in Weybridge. He graduated BDS from the Royal Dental Hospital, London in 1970. After House Officer posts he undertook a VSO year as SHO in Lagos, Nigeria. The following year he returned to England as a Community Dental Officer in Surrey where he met Anette.

In 1975 he acted as regional Dental Officer in NW Province in Zambia. Anette and David were married and their honeymoon was spent travelling by motorbike across Africa. David then worked in general practice in Inverness in 1976 and in Samsoe, Denmark for two years - Anette's native country.

David had the chance to buy a general practice in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria and soon threw himself into many activities within the community, notably the mountain rescue team and Search & Rescue Dogs Association.

Unfortunately David had a climbing accident and damaged his hand which forced him into early retirement from clinical work and in 2002 he sold his practice. The injury did little to slow him down. In 2005 he studied Forensic Medical Sciences and joined the Kenyon International register for disaster work. In 2009 he attended the Spanair air crash in Madrid and last year the Afriquyah air crash in Tripoli.

Judging by the turn-out at the overflowing church, David touched many people's lives in some way. He was proud of his son Andrew and daughter Alison and their achievements and in all of these things he was quietly yet ably supported by Anette. Although he died doing something he loved, the dental profession has lost an important cog, and Anette, Andrew and Alison their mainstay.