Colin Davey started instructing in September 1980, and became the volunteer CFI of Four Counties Gliding Club (4CGC) at RAF Syerston in Oct 2003. Shortly afterwards, the Club moved to RAF Barkston Heath, and then, in 2005, to its present home at RAF Wittering. On both occasions, the Club lost members and instructors who lived too far away from the Club's new location.
Each move required Colin to identify and bid for accommodation; re-build the instructor base; rebuild the club membership; and restart the long process of transforming what had suddenly become a largely ab-initio club to an advanced cross-country club. In 2012,
Colin handed over the reins as CFI to a planned successor: during his nearly 9-year tenure, over 15,000 launches, most of them instructional flights, were flown without accident. All of this reflects his outstanding commitment to the training and development of pilots at every level, which accords entirely with the spirit of the Ann Welch Memorial Award.