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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Pete, Gus & Hank

John Elkington · 24 October 2009 · Leave a Comment

Supermarine Walrus Supermarine Walrus

One of the stories my mother has told over the years (and we went through again this morning, at my request) is that of her oldest brother, Peter Adamson, who was part of a smuggling trio in the immediate aftermath of WWII. Known to insiders as ‘Pete, Gus and Hank’, they flew somewhere between one and three old Walrus seaplanes back and forth across the Channel, bringing back perfume and various sorts of alcohol.

On one trip they took a young blonde, who on the trip back managed to sleep through panic stations when the intrepid – but seat-of-the-pants – smugglers teetered on the edge of running out of fuel. They debated pouring some of the illicit brandy into the fuel tank, but we don’t know whether they did or not. My memory is that Peter was asked to leave the RAF during the war, because he crashed too many aircraft.

People my parents knew in the Royal Navy have said the adventures of P, G & H were well known at the time, indeed, the Walrus(es) used to land close in to the fleet, to offload wares.

Would be interested to hear from anyone who knows more of the story.

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Introduction

I began this blog with an entry reporting on a visit to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, on 30 September 2003. The blog element of the website has gone through several iterations since, with much of the older material still available.

Like so many things in my life, blog entries blur the boundaries between the personal and the professional. As explained on this site’s Home Page, the website and the blog are part platform for ongoing projects, part autobiography, and part accountability mechanism.

In addition, my blogs have appeared on many sites such as: Chinadialogue, CSRWire, Fast Company, GreenBiz, Guardian Sustainable Business, and the Harvard Business Review.

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About

John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. He is currently Founding Partner and Executive Chairman of Volans, a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation movements.

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john@johnelkington.com  |  +44 203 701 7550 | Twitter: @volansjohn

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