Sagan - a beautiful bouquet laid in the name of the Airmen's Union of Czech Republic and the Jan R. Irving Airforce History Club in Plzeň.

Wedding photograph of Vilém and Blanka Bufek. 1961

And this photograph is from Vilda's funera at the end of November in 1967. At both sides of the casket, his friends and fellow warriors stand guard. Right front, J. Plzák, Jan Irving stands hust behind him.

The youngest daughter, Iveta

The youngest daughter, Iveta

Iveta's parents noted that from a tender age, their child could be a bit different from the others when it comes to respect towards uniforms and interest in flying high.

Iveta's parents noted that from a tender age, their child could be a bit different from the others when it comes to respect towards uniforms and interest in flying high.

Here, Iveta's heritage shows in full - as a part convoy of jeeps which followed the demarcation line, with a colleague from the U. S. army who sat all the way long behind her and with the U. S. flag, they were the last in the convoy. Stříbro, 2003

Iveta at one of air shows, by her dad's beloved Dakota

Iveta with other airplane enthusiasts at the airport in Hradec Králové a few years later

When we compare Jan Irving's speech, radical for the time, at the national meeting of the Airmen's Union in 1968 and Iveta's emotional speech at the memorial event of the 90th anniversary of the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia, one just has to admit that in this case, the similarities are no accident.

When we compare Jan Irving's speech, radical for the time, at the national meeting of the Airmen's Union in 1968 and Iveta's emotional speech at the memorial event of the 90th anniversary of the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia, one just has to admit that in this case, the similarities are no accident.

A cute snapshot - just before departure

Here, captain Irving is peeking out of the cockpit of "his" IL - 14. 1974

Košice Airport. From the left: captain Irving, captain Čada, a "native", and hiss first officer Jiří Zouhar. August 1976

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these airmen. The passengers nor the cargo would wait. Here is a snapshot from a night landing and cold oozes from the photograph.

Kpt. Irving (uprostřed) pro změnu s kolegy na jiném letišti - už za svého života se stal legendou a toho si byli dobře vědomi i dopravní piloti i další personál všech československých letišť. Kam zavítal, tam byl vítán. (Pozn.: Je doloženo a letci z dopravních linek vzpomínáno na desítky případů, kdy pro hustou mlhu, sníh či podobné „sibérie“ nikdo nelétal a letiště byla dokonce uzavřena. Jan na to však nehleděl – měl-li příkaz k odletu, prostě letěl. Zejména Slováci si prý potrpěli na sázky, takže pokud se objevila v neproniknutelné mlze přistávací světla mašiny, okamžitě se sázeli, že „… ten blázen, co se v tom ,nicnevidím‘ bude snažit přistát, je zaručeně Irving!“ A také tomu tak bylo, čímž mnohokrát pomohl vyhrát zpravidla láhev whisky, kterou pak společně vypili, pokud se na tom či onom letišti přespávalo. Nejoblíbenější byl v tomto směru Hotel Slovan v Košicích. Obdobnou příhodu zmiňuje navíc již zde na jiném místě citovaná kniha J. Zachardy Světla a stíny leteckého povolání).

Jan at the centre column of IL-14

Leaving the cockpit for the last time. The glorious air career of captain Irving has come to close in 1977.

The last time under the nose cone of "his" IL-14

Formal photograph of Jan Irving and his wife Blanka who was a VIP guest at this event. Jan left the cockpit and his glorious pilot career came to an end in 1977.

Festive last day in the Czechoslovak Airlines and getting pensioned - the end of one epoch in civilian flying as well as in the life of one airman who just belonged and who was devoted to his job for all his life.

Festive last day in the Czechoslovak Airlines and getting pensioned - the end of one epoch in civilian flying as well as in the life of one airman who just belonged and who was devoted to his job for all his life.

The Czechoslovak ex-RAF airmen tried to ignore the surveillance. They continued socialising and whenever there was a reason for a party or a celebration, they cared a damn about the whole secret police machinery and "accompaniment" at every event. Mrs. and Mr. Irving are having a great time at the famed restaurant Na Zvonařce despite being closely watched.

Iveta's photograph from one of those semi-illegal reunions of the RAF airmen from the whole country which were organised during the second half of the 1980's. These reunions were organised under the auspices of the Socialist Youth Union in Kolín. The main organiser was JUDr. Jiří Sehnal. His mother is on the right from Jan Irving, at far left, Alois Konopický. (Iveta could not remember the name of the lady in the white sweater after all those years.) Everyone was looking forward to these yearly reunions. The secret police was was busy with that many irons in the fire and they couldn't manage to note down everything about the groups moving from the railway station or arriving in cars from all over Czechoslovakia. The cops drove in their Lada and Skoda cars to and fro and even the reinforcements did not help. It was certainly a sight to see when tens of people with tricolour ribbons on their lapels showed. The airmen and their families were aware of this and they indulged in the Schadenfreude. (Iveta, a stubborn teenager, would bravely stick her tongue out at them when they appeared.) When everyone met in the hall of the Cultural Centre, they had a lunch and then there were debates, stories told and Iveta started making notes about specific stories for her book about Ant the dog which she had already started writing. In 1989, with the help of Jan Irving and a few others, they started fundraising and organising for a reunion for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in the United Kingdom. It was in fact illegal for the Czechoslovaks so it appeared to be just vain dreaming even though the British side was involved as well as the Union of Czechoslovak Foreign Airmen with their headquarters in London and several other organisations.