08/09/2026
Amazing. Keep going David Laurillard
PEOPLE OF ANDOVER 💛
Meet David Laurillard.
He’s 90 years old.
He’s spent a lifetime around aircraft, served in the Royal Air Force, dedicated decades to Scouting, travelled around the world and called Andover home for more than 60 years.
And right now?
He’s planning to fly down a zip wire off Bournemouth Pier.
“I suppose it’s one way of keeping young.”
David was born in London on 6th April 1936 and his life has taken him on quite a journey.
He spent 12 years in the RAF before continuing to work around aircraft, including 13 years at Boscombe Down and another 22 at Middle Wallop.
Aircraft have, in one way or another, been a constant thread running through his life.
But so has giving his time to other people.
When David arrived in Andover, he had already been involved in Scouting. Within a couple of years of moving to the town, he was asked to form a Cub pack at 1st Andover.
That was just the beginning.
Over the years he took on numerous roles within local Scouting, eventually becoming District Commissioner, continuing until he stepped down at the age of 65.
It means generations of local young people have grown up with David quietly playing some part in the Scouting community around them.
But retirement certainly didn't mean David intended to stop living.
In fact, approaching his 89th birthday, he found himself lying in bed one day thinking about everything he'd experienced.
“I was thinking about my life and about coming up to 90. I've been lucky. I've travelled all over the world with the Air Force and since I retired, and I started thinking about all the different forms of transport I'd been on.”
Then an idea appeared.
90 forms of transport.
Over 90 weeks.
With David's 90th birthday right in the middle of it.
And just like that, Dave's Transport 90 Challenge was born.
But David didn't want to do it purely for himself.
“I thought, well, I'll do it for charity.”
He initially set himself the wonderfully appropriate target of raising £900, supporting nine different charities and causes close to him and his family.
Some are personal.
David survived prostate cancer after being diagnosed in 2013, while his wife has also experienced cancer, giving his fundraising an even deeper meaning.
Other causes he has chosen to support include Naomi House & Jacksplace, the Woodland Trust and the Andover branch of the Royal British Legion.
And that original £900 target?
He's already beaten it.
So naturally, David isn't stopping.
“I've still got about four months to do. I thought it's pointless stopping now. I set myself 90 weeks, so I'll carry on doing the different projects and raising more money.”
“The more money I can get, the happier I'll be.”
And the list of transport he's managed to experience is quite something.
Planes.
Buses.
A catamaran.
A canal boat.
Land trams.
And plenty more.
But one particular experience brought his past and present together in a way David wasn't expecting.
His son took him to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, where David spotted a de Havilland Dragon Rapide.
It immediately meant something to him.
Because the Dragon Rapide was the first type of aircraft David had ever flown in, travelling to Guernsey as a child in 1946.
Guernsey has always held a special place in his life. His grandfather came from the island and David lived with his grandparents, creating a connection that has lasted throughout his life.
Decades later, there he was at Duxford looking at the aircraft that had been part of one of his earliest travelling memories.
For a man whose life has been so closely connected with aviation, it was a special moment.
And there are still plenty more adventures to come.
David's plans include riding on old diesel shunting engines, travelling on a chain ferry and taking carriage rides at a heavy horse centre.
He's hoping to get inside a DeLorean — yes, the car made famous by Back to the Future.
Then there's that Bournemouth Pier zip wire.
And perhaps one of the most unusual forms of transport on the entire list...
The sea tractor at Burgh Island in Devon, which carries passengers between the mainland and island when the tide covers the causeway.
At 90, when plenty of people might understandably decide it's time to slow things down, David seems to be doing precisely the opposite.
And perhaps there's a reason for that.
“I'm very lucky that I've got reasonable health, and that's why I feel I should do it now while I can.”
It's a simple sentence, but perhaps one that says more about David than anything else.
Because his challenge isn't really about ticking 90 forms of transport off a list.
It's about appreciating the opportunity to still experience something new.
It's about remembering where you've been while remaining excited about where you're going next.
It's about turning good health into something positive for other people.
And it's about proving that adventure doesn't suddenly disappear because another birthday comes around.
David has already lived a remarkable 90 years.
From London to the RAF.
From Boscombe Down and Middle Wallop to more than six decades of life in Andover.
From helping generations of young people through Scouting to raising money for causes that mean something to him personally.
And yet, listening to him speak, you don't get the impression he's particularly interested in looking backwards.
There are still places to go.
Things to experience.
Money to raise.
And apparently, a pier in Bournemouth that needs to be conquered.
At 90 years old, David Laurillard isn't counting the years.
He's making the years count.
And he hasn't finished yet.
— David Laurillard 💛
