Obituaries |
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Here we remember Westminsterians who are no longer with us. |
Baxter, Jack H, 1952-54, died December 2021 following increasingly poor health. A history teacher, Jack was well-known in the world of genealogy for his authoritative index of Essex Burials 1813-65. A fully active Methodist, Jack attended a Salvation Army hall in his later years.
Jack was born on 22 August 1929, the younger son of Grace Nichols & Eaton Barnes Baxter, who had met while working for The Gramophone Company (later HMV/EMI), and settled in Leigh on Sea, Essex. His parents separated in the early 1930s and the boys’ mother, unable to support them in pre-welfare state times, reluctantly sent them to live under the care of the National Children’s Home in various locations, sometimes together, sometimes apart. Jack was found to be academically able and was given a scholarship to Woodhouse Grove, a boarding school near Bradford. He enjoyed a full school life, excelling at English, French and Latin, socialising, and participating in sports. In holiday times the brothers came back to stay with their mother in Leigh-on-Sea. He matriculated in 1947.
Following school days, Jack did his national service in Kenya in the Royal Corps of Signals, operating telephones, radio and teleprinters.
He then trained to teach at Westminster College in Horseferry Road, specialising in French. To improve his French prior to teaching, he spent year in France as a language assistant. Jack’s first teaching post was at Westleigh School in Leigh on Sea which at the time catered for 5-14 year-olds. Following his probationary period, he was summoned in some trepidation, to an interview with the head master. ‘You are a very good teacher,’ Jack was told. A year or so later, in 1953, the teachers of the older pupils were transferred to the newly built Belfairs High Schools. He taught for over 30 years at the boys’ school, initially teaching French but soon specialising in English. Jack was consistent, fair and sensitive to particular needs of individuals, giving extra help with reading at lunchtimes. In addition to the regular curriculum, he organised cricket teams, chess clubs and continental skiing trips for pupils.
Recent comments from former pupils (now in their 70s and 80s) say of him:
‘Yes - Jack was a good teacher. I remember him well- he cycled to school……. He was one of the younger tutors - I think he was probably more on our wavelength than some of the others (he encouraged us when we formed our skiffle group).’
‘So many happy memories of Jack; one of those teachers we'll never forget - even tempered and good at his job. He will be remembered by literally thousands of us - the legacy of a great teacher.
‘A teacher that I respected’.
‘A good man who, as a worthy cricketer, had a good innings!’
One of Jack’s colleagues paid tribute to him: ‘I worked alongside Jack for eight years at Belfairs in the English Department. He was, I felt at the time, uniquely his own man. As I remember, you could always get a straightforward opinion from him, with no hedging! He had his own style of teaching and classroom management, unaffected by passing educational fads. As a probationary teacher, I observed a number of his lessons, and learned a lot from his approach. He was very much a respected colleague.’
Jack was a long-time member at Leigh Wesley Methodist Church, attending evening worship. A social group grew out of Wesley church in the 1950s called The Carisbrooke Club, which, despite many changes of personnel, is still running after 70 years. They met often for activities like quizzes, visits, and hikes. Jack loved organising his share of these. He liked active holidays: Youth Hostelling at home and abroad; skiing trips in Austria, Switzerland and France with his brother and his best friend; adventurous camping trips at home and in Europe.
When at school Jack played scrum half at rugby. He loved golf: he would play a few holes after work to calm his nerves. He ran a table tennis team and played for the same cricket team as his brother. He also liked acting. He was in plays in his college days and his most recent role was playing an old cobbler at a Salvation Army corps nativity drama. For almost forty years, he was part of the Badminton Players, a drama group based at Highlands Methodist church. (They had played badminton before deciding to become a drama group). He starred in such titles as Arsenic and Old Lace, Separate Tables and Blithe Spirit. In addition to learning his own lines, he would help others to practise theirs.
He liked books, music and listening to his radio. Caring for his mother in his own home in her later years, he bought a colour TV for her to enjoy. When later it broke down, he put it in the wardrobe where it stayed for decades. He had a reel-to-reel tape recorder in the early 60s and recorded his nephews talking when small boys. He recorded himself reading books for use at school, and for a blind friend. He did not like telephones ‘There’s a phone box opposite if I need to make a call’, but when his friends gave him a mobile, he dived into texting with great ease, well before his nephews.
In 1970 Jack decided to trace his ancestral roots. Over the next 30+ years his research, in many churches across Essex, led him to transcribe some of the registers and subsequently n to compile indexes of baptisms, marriages and burials for all of Essex. He drove to Chelmsford twice a week to do research at the Essex Record Office and was honoured as a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists.
Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, in later years Jack realised a lifetime’s ambition by travelling alone all over New Zealand, visiting genealogy contacts and seeing the sights, he gave up smoking and he joined the Salvation Army as an adherent. He told his nephew ‘I think being in the Salvation Army has made me a better person.’
Throughout his life Jack befriended people and stayed loyal to them. He routinely visited those older and infirm; he met others socially, often for meals; he shopped for his neighbours. He was many times a best man, a godfather, and a dearly loved uncle to his devoted nephews.
Everyone has a different version of Jack. – ‘wouldn’t give in’ - ‘said it as it was’, ‘lively little man’ - ‘a mind that will be missed’ – ‘lovely caring man’
Goodbye Jack - Au revoir – or, as he’d say, ‘reservoir – olive oil’.
The above is adapted from the tribute paid by his nephews, Keith and Richard to Jack at his funeral in late January 2022. Jack was a regular at gatherings of the East Anglian group of Old Ws. It was his nephews who made sure he was able to attend them by so willingly acting as his chauffeur, no matter how far the distance. Jack’s spirit and enthusiasm was much admired by us all.
Margaret Baldry (Law) ‘67
Best, Michael Charles, Mike, 1972-75, retired on his 60th birthday after 14 years as headteacher of Beominster School, Dorset. He died 16 December 2021, age 67.
Blake, Rebecca 'Becky' (Atkinson), 1984-88, d. 9 July 2022 a few days before her 56th birthday to motor neurone disease and cardiac arrest. Her illness was relatively brief, only diagnosed earlier this year. Her funeral was on 4 August at St Paul's Salisbury.
Booton, Catherine Ruth, ‘Clare’, (Bradshaw), 1964-67, b. September 1945, d. 16 June 2021 in Yeovil District Hospital, while living in Thorncombe, Chard, Somerset.
Bradley, Mark, 1965-68, d 15 January 2022, and is survived by Hazel (Hunt) 1965-68.
E Derby, Sir John Edwin, 1951-53, b. 16 January 1931, d. 3 August 2021, Professor of Physics, Bristol University 1976-96. Wikipedia link
Galbraith, Dr Iain Baird, MTh 1999, d. 20 December 2021 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, with funeral at Lomond Parish Church, where he was organist.
Fellow member of that first Scottish MTh student cohort at Westminster, Rev Dr Graham D S Deans, writes: Iain was President of the Church Service Society 2012-14. He was a teacher by profession, but he may be remembered more for his musical gifts as a Church organist, in which capacity he served for over 60 years.He also had a passion for stained glass, and created a stained glass room in one of the churches where he served.
Dr Galbraith was a recognised authority on stained glass in Scotland, and his work, which spanned 40 years, was accepted into the National Archives of Scotland. He was also a Church of Scotland elder and reader who played an active role in the Presbytery of Dumbarton for many years, and had the rare ability of being able to inspire so many young lives.
There is an extended appreciation of his life and work in Vol 56 of the Record of the Church Service Society on pp. 1962-65.
Gibbon, Jeff ‘John Jeffrey’, 1959-61, d. 3 October 2019, age 81, in Yorkshire, having retired there from his home in Barrow-in-Furness.
Gratton, Richard Edward, Eddie, 1959-61, d. 29 March 2022, age 83 The Guardian obituary
Hadnett, Richard, Dickie, BTh 1998, d. 1 August 2018 at Limerick Junction, Ireland.
Hoffman, Shane Arthur Bradford, BTh 1996-98, d. 19 March 2020. Shane was a co-founder of West London Churches Homeless Concern.
McArdell, Michael John, 1953, d. 1 July 2019, age 89 at Maldon, Essex.
Mumford, Kenneth John, 1948-52, former Westminster College governor, d. 1 November 2021. Son Andrew (alumnus of Southlands College) writes: Born in Bibury in 1928, Ken was brought up largely in the Black Country, where he moved from his parents’ Anglicanism to the local Methodists. Following National Service immediately after the war, in 1948 Ken went to Westminster College, London, for two years to train to teach. There he enjoyed playing rugby and listening to the great Methodist preachers of the day.
Ken’s first post, in 1950, was at the Methodist School in Witney, Oxfordshire. He joined High Street Methodist Church which was to remain his spiritual home for the rest of his life. Already a Local Preacher, he embarked on nearly 70 years as an active and respected preacher. Ken married Joyce in 1952, and in the following year the first of their three children was born.
In 1953 the Methodist School closed, and Ken was one of the staff appointed to the new Secondary Modern School. He and his lifelong friend Bill Patton (’48) were part of a small team of young teachers who took on the challenge of developing the ethos of a new school. He was given extra responsibilities, eventually becoming Head of Lower School, as well as helping the transition to a comprehensive school. At the same time he was contributing to national working parties and committees on the teaching of Religious Education.
In 1970, a new secondary school was planned for Carterton, serving the community around RAF Brize Norton. To his surprise, Ken was appointed as Head, and he took on the challenge of creating a new school with cutting edge ideas, especially in regard to the curriculum and to working with children with special educational needs.
Ken left Westminster College with a teaching qualification, but no degree. Early on he obtained an LCP qualification through home study, which was later given degree equivalence. In 1979 the LEA seconded Ken for a year to study for a Masters Degree at the University of Sussex, an experience he thoroughly enjoyed. He returned to Carterton for the remainder of his career, before retiring in 1986.
During this time, Ken served as a governor of the now Oxford-based Westminster College, and in many capacities at all levels in the Methodist Church. Throughout his career, Ken has a motto on his desk: People matter most. He lived this throughout his professional, personal and church lives. As well as his work in schools, Ken took a close interest in youth work in the town, was a regular contributor to ‘Talking News’, and was a committed member of the Rotary Club. On one occasion he was voted the town’s Citizen of the Year.
In retirement, Ken and Joyce enjoyed travel, especially to India and Nepal, and to Canada. As well as trekking in the Himalayas, including to Everest base camp (age 72!) Ken was a great supporter of the charity Wells for India (now WaterHarvest) and visited many of their projects in India. They also discovered Taizé and visited eleven times.
A teacher to the end, Ken had prepared a session for the church house group he and Joyce hosted, which was due to take place the day after his sudden death. The packed church and the hundreds who viewed the funeral service online were a testament to the esteem in which he was held. Ken is very much missed by Joyce and all the family, including 22 great-grandchildren, and also by the church and the wider community where he made such an impact.
Eccles, Ruth, 1961-1964, d. 26 December 2022
Ruth was born to Samuel and Mary Hays in April 1943. She has an older brother David and a younger brother Philip. The family left Doncaster for Leigh-on-Sea, Essex after the war and at the age of 11 Ruth and I became friends. We were both in the same class at Westcliff High School for Girls and we have remained friends ever since.
On finishing school, we both started Teacher Training at Westminster College in 1961 where girls had only recently been admitted. It was here that she met her future husband John on the first day of the three-year course.
She started her teaching career at Edwards Hall Primary School (Leigh-on-Sea), then moved to Westwood Primary School in Hadleigh. After the children were born she had a part time job helping children with learning difficulties at King John Secondary School in Benfleet, a modern school which became comprehensive in the late 1960s, where John taught Science.
After marrying John in 1966 at Highlands Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Rachel, her daughter was born in 1972 and Matthew, her son was born the following year. In 1977 Ruth, John and family then moved to Holbrook in Suffolk where she continued her career at Bentley Primary School. She took a great interest in Rachel and Matthew’s schooling as well as showing them the wider world of the UK and Europe touring around by caravan during the summer holidays.
Ruth retired from teaching at 60 and found new ways to help people, volunteering for the Witness Protection programme at Ipswich Magistrates Court and helping cancer sufferers at ICAN in Ipswich. In retirement they both enjoyed travelling to all corners of the world and especially to Seattle USA where their son now lives with his family. She took a great interest in her grandchildren Megan, Sam and Tudor helping them with school work, watching them play sport and teaching them how to cook! It was during covid that her teaching skills were put to use again. Tudor’s pre-school in Seattle was closed so every day for 60 to 90 mins on Face Time Ruth would have ‘Grannie School’ to make sure he didn’t miss out on the basics.
She continued her ties with Westminster College as a member of the East Anglian Westminster Society and enjoyed meeting up with Old W’s for outings and lunches. Old W’s Tom and Carol Pilkington’s son Steven gave Ruth’s grand-daughter Megan piano lessons whilst Chris and Stephanie Slack sometimes met them while caravanning. She and John also attended many college reunions. She was a member of Holbrook Methodist Church where her wonderful funeral service was held. It was broadcast on YouTube to many friends and Old W’s who were unable to travel to Suffolk.
Ruth was diagnosed with cancer in November 2022 and died with her family around her on Boxing Day morning. She was a Wife, Mum, Grannie, Sister, Auntie and a friend. We will miss you Ruth, you will be remembered by so many people for your friendship, helpfulness, kindness and courage. Madeleine Harvey (Foord). 1961-1964
Page, Maurice Haydn, 1951, d. 31 March 2021
Sayers, Frank, 1944-48, d. April 2022.
Smith, Joseph '95, d. 2 June 2022 Joe's ordained ministry began at St Mark's Talbot Village, then St Aldheims Branksome and on to St Peter's Bournemouth with St Stephen's and St Augustine. He married in 2021 and moved to Windsor. Sadly, he caught Covid and was in a hospice and hospital for twelve weeks.
Sloman, Andrew P, Andy, 1975-78, d.3 November 2021 Andy was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. His dignity and sense of humour remained undiminished to the end. He will be fondly remembered and keenly missed.
Staves, Philip, Phil, 1956-58, d. 7 November 2021, age 85, at Friargate Hospital, Northallerton
Sweet, Alan Richard Lobb, 1954, d. 16 January 2022, age 89 after a period of ill health.
Weller (Long), Elizabeth, Liz, 1968-72, d. December 2021 Husband Graham writes: Elizabeth had been battling cancer over a year and sadly succumbed just before Christmas to a particularly aggressive form of the disease. After graduating (myself in Engineering at Loughborough and Elizabeth at Westminster College - N house & P house) we married and moved to London. Elizabeth taught initially in Isleworth, then at Heathland High School in Housnlow, and later at South Lee School in Suffolk. We raised a family of three boys, two of whom have taught both here in the UK and in China. We have lived in Devon since retirmenet, where Liz was an avid gardener, and restored a much-neglected garden to its former glory. Wonderful memories… when we were undergrads, exploring the spires and environs of Oxford and some of the pubs, of course.
Wheeler, Eric A, 1952, d. late-2021 in Portsmouth.
Yelland, Jeremy d. 2022 Jeremy (b. 1955) became unwell and was admitted to critical care with sepsis. A short time later his life support was turned off as there was nothing else they could do for him. A huge shock for everyone.
Jack was born on 22 August 1929, the younger son of Grace Nichols & Eaton Barnes Baxter, who had met while working for The Gramophone Company (later HMV/EMI), and settled in Leigh on Sea, Essex. His parents separated in the early 1930s and the boys’ mother, unable to support them in pre-welfare state times, reluctantly sent them to live under the care of the National Children’s Home in various locations, sometimes together, sometimes apart. Jack was found to be academically able and was given a scholarship to Woodhouse Grove, a boarding school near Bradford. He enjoyed a full school life, excelling at English, French and Latin, socialising, and participating in sports. In holiday times the brothers came back to stay with their mother in Leigh-on-Sea. He matriculated in 1947.
Following school days, Jack did his national service in Kenya in the Royal Corps of Signals, operating telephones, radio and teleprinters.
He then trained to teach at Westminster College in Horseferry Road, specialising in French. To improve his French prior to teaching, he spent year in France as a language assistant. Jack’s first teaching post was at Westleigh School in Leigh on Sea which at the time catered for 5-14 year-olds. Following his probationary period, he was summoned in some trepidation, to an interview with the head master. ‘You are a very good teacher,’ Jack was told. A year or so later, in 1953, the teachers of the older pupils were transferred to the newly built Belfairs High Schools. He taught for over 30 years at the boys’ school, initially teaching French but soon specialising in English. Jack was consistent, fair and sensitive to particular needs of individuals, giving extra help with reading at lunchtimes. In addition to the regular curriculum, he organised cricket teams, chess clubs and continental skiing trips for pupils.
Recent comments from former pupils (now in their 70s and 80s) say of him:
‘Yes - Jack was a good teacher. I remember him well- he cycled to school……. He was one of the younger tutors - I think he was probably more on our wavelength than some of the others (he encouraged us when we formed our skiffle group).’
‘So many happy memories of Jack; one of those teachers we'll never forget - even tempered and good at his job. He will be remembered by literally thousands of us - the legacy of a great teacher.
‘A teacher that I respected’.
‘A good man who, as a worthy cricketer, had a good innings!’
One of Jack’s colleagues paid tribute to him: ‘I worked alongside Jack for eight years at Belfairs in the English Department. He was, I felt at the time, uniquely his own man. As I remember, you could always get a straightforward opinion from him, with no hedging! He had his own style of teaching and classroom management, unaffected by passing educational fads. As a probationary teacher, I observed a number of his lessons, and learned a lot from his approach. He was very much a respected colleague.’
Jack was a long-time member at Leigh Wesley Methodist Church, attending evening worship. A social group grew out of Wesley church in the 1950s called The Carisbrooke Club, which, despite many changes of personnel, is still running after 70 years. They met often for activities like quizzes, visits, and hikes. Jack loved organising his share of these. He liked active holidays: Youth Hostelling at home and abroad; skiing trips in Austria, Switzerland and France with his brother and his best friend; adventurous camping trips at home and in Europe.
When at school Jack played scrum half at rugby. He loved golf: he would play a few holes after work to calm his nerves. He ran a table tennis team and played for the same cricket team as his brother. He also liked acting. He was in plays in his college days and his most recent role was playing an old cobbler at a Salvation Army corps nativity drama. For almost forty years, he was part of the Badminton Players, a drama group based at Highlands Methodist church. (They had played badminton before deciding to become a drama group). He starred in such titles as Arsenic and Old Lace, Separate Tables and Blithe Spirit. In addition to learning his own lines, he would help others to practise theirs.
He liked books, music and listening to his radio. Caring for his mother in his own home in her later years, he bought a colour TV for her to enjoy. When later it broke down, he put it in the wardrobe where it stayed for decades. He had a reel-to-reel tape recorder in the early 60s and recorded his nephews talking when small boys. He recorded himself reading books for use at school, and for a blind friend. He did not like telephones ‘There’s a phone box opposite if I need to make a call’, but when his friends gave him a mobile, he dived into texting with great ease, well before his nephews.
In 1970 Jack decided to trace his ancestral roots. Over the next 30+ years his research, in many churches across Essex, led him to transcribe some of the registers and subsequently n to compile indexes of baptisms, marriages and burials for all of Essex. He drove to Chelmsford twice a week to do research at the Essex Record Office and was honoured as a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists.
Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, in later years Jack realised a lifetime’s ambition by travelling alone all over New Zealand, visiting genealogy contacts and seeing the sights, he gave up smoking and he joined the Salvation Army as an adherent. He told his nephew ‘I think being in the Salvation Army has made me a better person.’
Throughout his life Jack befriended people and stayed loyal to them. He routinely visited those older and infirm; he met others socially, often for meals; he shopped for his neighbours. He was many times a best man, a godfather, and a dearly loved uncle to his devoted nephews.
Everyone has a different version of Jack. – ‘wouldn’t give in’ - ‘said it as it was’, ‘lively little man’ - ‘a mind that will be missed’ – ‘lovely caring man’
Goodbye Jack - Au revoir – or, as he’d say, ‘reservoir – olive oil’.
The above is adapted from the tribute paid by his nephews, Keith and Richard to Jack at his funeral in late January 2022. Jack was a regular at gatherings of the East Anglian group of Old Ws. It was his nephews who made sure he was able to attend them by so willingly acting as his chauffeur, no matter how far the distance. Jack’s spirit and enthusiasm was much admired by us all.
Margaret Baldry (Law) ‘67
Best, Michael Charles, Mike, 1972-75, retired on his 60th birthday after 14 years as headteacher of Beominster School, Dorset. He died 16 December 2021, age 67.
Blake, Rebecca 'Becky' (Atkinson), 1984-88, d. 9 July 2022 a few days before her 56th birthday to motor neurone disease and cardiac arrest. Her illness was relatively brief, only diagnosed earlier this year. Her funeral was on 4 August at St Paul's Salisbury.
Booton, Catherine Ruth, ‘Clare’, (Bradshaw), 1964-67, b. September 1945, d. 16 June 2021 in Yeovil District Hospital, while living in Thorncombe, Chard, Somerset.
Bradley, Mark, 1965-68, d 15 January 2022, and is survived by Hazel (Hunt) 1965-68.
E Derby, Sir John Edwin, 1951-53, b. 16 January 1931, d. 3 August 2021, Professor of Physics, Bristol University 1976-96. Wikipedia link
Galbraith, Dr Iain Baird, MTh 1999, d. 20 December 2021 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, with funeral at Lomond Parish Church, where he was organist.
Fellow member of that first Scottish MTh student cohort at Westminster, Rev Dr Graham D S Deans, writes: Iain was President of the Church Service Society 2012-14. He was a teacher by profession, but he may be remembered more for his musical gifts as a Church organist, in which capacity he served for over 60 years.He also had a passion for stained glass, and created a stained glass room in one of the churches where he served.
Dr Galbraith was a recognised authority on stained glass in Scotland, and his work, which spanned 40 years, was accepted into the National Archives of Scotland. He was also a Church of Scotland elder and reader who played an active role in the Presbytery of Dumbarton for many years, and had the rare ability of being able to inspire so many young lives.
There is an extended appreciation of his life and work in Vol 56 of the Record of the Church Service Society on pp. 1962-65.
Gibbon, Jeff ‘John Jeffrey’, 1959-61, d. 3 October 2019, age 81, in Yorkshire, having retired there from his home in Barrow-in-Furness.
Gratton, Richard Edward, Eddie, 1959-61, d. 29 March 2022, age 83 The Guardian obituary
Hadnett, Richard, Dickie, BTh 1998, d. 1 August 2018 at Limerick Junction, Ireland.
Hoffman, Shane Arthur Bradford, BTh 1996-98, d. 19 March 2020. Shane was a co-founder of West London Churches Homeless Concern.
McArdell, Michael John, 1953, d. 1 July 2019, age 89 at Maldon, Essex.
Mumford, Kenneth John, 1948-52, former Westminster College governor, d. 1 November 2021. Son Andrew (alumnus of Southlands College) writes: Born in Bibury in 1928, Ken was brought up largely in the Black Country, where he moved from his parents’ Anglicanism to the local Methodists. Following National Service immediately after the war, in 1948 Ken went to Westminster College, London, for two years to train to teach. There he enjoyed playing rugby and listening to the great Methodist preachers of the day.
Ken’s first post, in 1950, was at the Methodist School in Witney, Oxfordshire. He joined High Street Methodist Church which was to remain his spiritual home for the rest of his life. Already a Local Preacher, he embarked on nearly 70 years as an active and respected preacher. Ken married Joyce in 1952, and in the following year the first of their three children was born.
In 1953 the Methodist School closed, and Ken was one of the staff appointed to the new Secondary Modern School. He and his lifelong friend Bill Patton (’48) were part of a small team of young teachers who took on the challenge of developing the ethos of a new school. He was given extra responsibilities, eventually becoming Head of Lower School, as well as helping the transition to a comprehensive school. At the same time he was contributing to national working parties and committees on the teaching of Religious Education.
In 1970, a new secondary school was planned for Carterton, serving the community around RAF Brize Norton. To his surprise, Ken was appointed as Head, and he took on the challenge of creating a new school with cutting edge ideas, especially in regard to the curriculum and to working with children with special educational needs.
Ken left Westminster College with a teaching qualification, but no degree. Early on he obtained an LCP qualification through home study, which was later given degree equivalence. In 1979 the LEA seconded Ken for a year to study for a Masters Degree at the University of Sussex, an experience he thoroughly enjoyed. He returned to Carterton for the remainder of his career, before retiring in 1986.
During this time, Ken served as a governor of the now Oxford-based Westminster College, and in many capacities at all levels in the Methodist Church. Throughout his career, Ken has a motto on his desk: People matter most. He lived this throughout his professional, personal and church lives. As well as his work in schools, Ken took a close interest in youth work in the town, was a regular contributor to ‘Talking News’, and was a committed member of the Rotary Club. On one occasion he was voted the town’s Citizen of the Year.
In retirement, Ken and Joyce enjoyed travel, especially to India and Nepal, and to Canada. As well as trekking in the Himalayas, including to Everest base camp (age 72!) Ken was a great supporter of the charity Wells for India (now WaterHarvest) and visited many of their projects in India. They also discovered Taizé and visited eleven times.
A teacher to the end, Ken had prepared a session for the church house group he and Joyce hosted, which was due to take place the day after his sudden death. The packed church and the hundreds who viewed the funeral service online were a testament to the esteem in which he was held. Ken is very much missed by Joyce and all the family, including 22 great-grandchildren, and also by the church and the wider community where he made such an impact.
Eccles, Ruth, 1961-1964, d. 26 December 2022
Ruth was born to Samuel and Mary Hays in April 1943. She has an older brother David and a younger brother Philip. The family left Doncaster for Leigh-on-Sea, Essex after the war and at the age of 11 Ruth and I became friends. We were both in the same class at Westcliff High School for Girls and we have remained friends ever since.
On finishing school, we both started Teacher Training at Westminster College in 1961 where girls had only recently been admitted. It was here that she met her future husband John on the first day of the three-year course.
She started her teaching career at Edwards Hall Primary School (Leigh-on-Sea), then moved to Westwood Primary School in Hadleigh. After the children were born she had a part time job helping children with learning difficulties at King John Secondary School in Benfleet, a modern school which became comprehensive in the late 1960s, where John taught Science.
After marrying John in 1966 at Highlands Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Rachel, her daughter was born in 1972 and Matthew, her son was born the following year. In 1977 Ruth, John and family then moved to Holbrook in Suffolk where she continued her career at Bentley Primary School. She took a great interest in Rachel and Matthew’s schooling as well as showing them the wider world of the UK and Europe touring around by caravan during the summer holidays.
Ruth retired from teaching at 60 and found new ways to help people, volunteering for the Witness Protection programme at Ipswich Magistrates Court and helping cancer sufferers at ICAN in Ipswich. In retirement they both enjoyed travelling to all corners of the world and especially to Seattle USA where their son now lives with his family. She took a great interest in her grandchildren Megan, Sam and Tudor helping them with school work, watching them play sport and teaching them how to cook! It was during covid that her teaching skills were put to use again. Tudor’s pre-school in Seattle was closed so every day for 60 to 90 mins on Face Time Ruth would have ‘Grannie School’ to make sure he didn’t miss out on the basics.
She continued her ties with Westminster College as a member of the East Anglian Westminster Society and enjoyed meeting up with Old W’s for outings and lunches. Old W’s Tom and Carol Pilkington’s son Steven gave Ruth’s grand-daughter Megan piano lessons whilst Chris and Stephanie Slack sometimes met them while caravanning. She and John also attended many college reunions. She was a member of Holbrook Methodist Church where her wonderful funeral service was held. It was broadcast on YouTube to many friends and Old W’s who were unable to travel to Suffolk.
Ruth was diagnosed with cancer in November 2022 and died with her family around her on Boxing Day morning. She was a Wife, Mum, Grannie, Sister, Auntie and a friend. We will miss you Ruth, you will be remembered by so many people for your friendship, helpfulness, kindness and courage. Madeleine Harvey (Foord). 1961-1964
Page, Maurice Haydn, 1951, d. 31 March 2021
Sayers, Frank, 1944-48, d. April 2022.
Smith, Joseph '95, d. 2 June 2022 Joe's ordained ministry began at St Mark's Talbot Village, then St Aldheims Branksome and on to St Peter's Bournemouth with St Stephen's and St Augustine. He married in 2021 and moved to Windsor. Sadly, he caught Covid and was in a hospice and hospital for twelve weeks.
Sloman, Andrew P, Andy, 1975-78, d.3 November 2021 Andy was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. His dignity and sense of humour remained undiminished to the end. He will be fondly remembered and keenly missed.
Staves, Philip, Phil, 1956-58, d. 7 November 2021, age 85, at Friargate Hospital, Northallerton
Sweet, Alan Richard Lobb, 1954, d. 16 January 2022, age 89 after a period of ill health.
Weller (Long), Elizabeth, Liz, 1968-72, d. December 2021 Husband Graham writes: Elizabeth had been battling cancer over a year and sadly succumbed just before Christmas to a particularly aggressive form of the disease. After graduating (myself in Engineering at Loughborough and Elizabeth at Westminster College - N house & P house) we married and moved to London. Elizabeth taught initially in Isleworth, then at Heathland High School in Housnlow, and later at South Lee School in Suffolk. We raised a family of three boys, two of whom have taught both here in the UK and in China. We have lived in Devon since retirmenet, where Liz was an avid gardener, and restored a much-neglected garden to its former glory. Wonderful memories… when we were undergrads, exploring the spires and environs of Oxford and some of the pubs, of course.
Wheeler, Eric A, 1952, d. late-2021 in Portsmouth.
Yelland, Jeremy d. 2022 Jeremy (b. 1955) became unwell and was admitted to critical care with sepsis. A short time later his life support was turned off as there was nothing else they could do for him. A huge shock for everyone.
