Sweating the Metal

Flt Lt Alex 'Frenchie' Duncan DFC was born in 1976 to a French mother and Scottish father. Brought up near Paris, he came to England in 1995. In August 2000, he was commissioned into the Royal Air Force and selected for rotary wing training, qualifying as a Chinook pilot and joining A Flight, 18 Squadron. He has amassed over 2,000 hours flying the Chinook. He has also undertaken operational tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was commended for gallantry. In 2008, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross - the air equivalent of the Military Cross and one of the highest awards for bravery - for two actions less than a week apart. Alex is married to Alison with whom he has two sons, Guy-Olivier and Max-Olivier.