Tower and Town, July 2021

  (view the full edition)

Family News

Joe Biggs was born in London in 1934. During World War II he was evacuated to Leicestershire, after which he came with his family to live in Marlborough. He was a choirboy in St Mary’s church and was one of the first pupils to attend the secondary modern school on the Common.

Upon leaving school, he went to work at the famous Pelham Puppets factory but, at the age of 18, was called up to do his national service. He joined the Royal Tank Regiment and served in Germany, rising to the rank of Corporal. At the end of his term, he was discharged but was called back again in 1956 to serve as a tank commander during the Suez Crisis. For this he was awarded the General Services Medal.

Janet and Joe, who had met briefly four years before, were married in St Mary’s church in 1960. Their banns of marriage were the first banns to be printed in an issue of Tower and Town.

Joe had a diverse career: early on he was with Fringe Vision erecting TV aerials and then he learnt the trade of painter and decorator with Burt’s the Builders. In his spare time he engaged in gardening, ballroom dancing and playing cards.

Joe enjoyed many sports including tennis and badminton. His biggest love was football and he played for the Burbage and Marlborough Town club. He also had opportunities to play for the Jockey Club team and to participate in matches against players such as Sean Connery, Tommy Steel and England captain, Billy Wright, who were in Showbiz 1. On one occasion Joe stood in for Lester Piggott and scored the winning goal.

Janet and Joe had two daughters, Sarah and Joanne; four grandchildren, Fiona, Holly, Josh and Alice; and six great grandchildren, James, Alfie, Thea, Sophie, Wynter and Harriett. Our thoughts are with them.

Lionel Peck died in March. He was a well known and respected local driving instructor having started Peck's School of Motoring almost 50 years ago. He grew up with his brother and three sisters in Fyfield and went to Lockeridge School followed by Marlborough Secondary Modern. He trained to be a motor mechanic and was one of the last to be conscripted in to National Service in the R.E.M.E. posted to Germany for 2 years. After marrying Enid they lived in Elcot Lane where they had three sons, Richard, John and Matthew who shared his passion for scrambling. Lionel was still to be seen at races with his sons until recently. He enjoyed his retirement spending time with his family which included four grandsons, playing bowls and helping at local charity events.

Jessy Pomfret