Police have launched a murder investigation after a pair believed to be a pioneering Concorde pilot and his wife were found dead near the village of Bucklebury.

The couple found in a property in west Berkshire have been named by Reading coroner’s office as Tony and Paula Meadows, who were both in their 80s.

Paula Meadows had been chronically ill with dementia and was being cared for by her husband on the farm where their bodies were found, according to a family friend.

Detectives said there was no further threat and they were not searching for a suspect.

Meadows had written in the Mach 2 Concorde magazine that he was part of the flight crew during the supersonic jet’s first Heathrow to New York passenger flight in 1977.

Officers from Thames Valley police were investigating at one of the homes on Hawkridge Farm in Chapel Lane, where a blue forensics tent has been set up.

A family friend said the Meadows lived alone in the farmhouse where they had been for 35 years and that she had spoken to one of their three “devastated” children on Wednesday morning.

“They can’t understand it. They haven’t been able to get their minds around it really,” she said. “Paula has dementia so she hadn’t been very well for quite a while. But Tony always took care of her and looked after her very well, and took her for walks. He was a very caring person, very friendly.”

DCI Andy Howard described their deaths as “a tragic incident”.

“We are currently investigating and have launched a murder inquiry but we are not looking for anybody else,” he said.

Asked about the former British Airways captain’s death, the airline said: “Our thoughts are with their family and friends.”