Sir Timothy William Wallis

1 Nov

When Tim Wallis was knighted in 1994 his response to friends and colleagues was "call me Tim". This accident-prone aviator, a pioneer in deer recovery and founder of Warbirds Over Wanaka, never let success go to his head. He showed remarkable personal strength at low points in his life, notably in 1968 when he was nearly bankrupted and immobilised in hospital with a broken back after an air crash.

In January 1996 he suffered his fifth air accident, nearly killing himself flying a restored Spitfire aircraft. His response was to praise the St John organisation when he turned the first sod in the construction of a $1.4 million St John ambulance station in Queenstown.