Tower and Town, February 2018

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Family News

Congratulations to Christopher Loveday who was awarded the MBE in the New Year’s Honours for 'Services to Children, to people with Mental Health issues and the Community of Swindon'. This is in recognition of a lifetime’s involvement in charity work. He was very involved in setting up Swindon Business Cares for Children. The objective was initially to raise enough money to purchase a property in Swindon, to open a Child Protection Centre, for the NSPCC. Once achieved, it was possible to fund the day to day running of the centre for a number of years. This initiative became a model for other areas of the country. The recession in the late 80's hit Chris's firm Loveday & Loveday hard and by 1991 he became very ill, suffering a nervous breakdown. After recovering he became interested in mental health and changed direction completely. He took up running again, lost weight and decided to put more energy into charity work. He firmly believes that being close to nature and having a faith and, mostly, having the support of loyal and loving family and friends was key to his recovery. In 1996 he was instrumental in setting up 'Mindfully Employed' a mental health charity in Marlborough. Since 2008 Chris has been involved with TWIGS (a mental health charity in Swindon) as a fundraiser.
For more information on TWIGS:  http://twigscommunitygardens.org.uk
For information on events/open days:  http://www.friendsoftwigs.org.uk

Alec Light was announced Citizen of the Year at the Christmas Lights Ceremony. He is a Marlborough man. He played football for the town and for the county. He had a trial for England Boys Under 16s. He was in the Royal Engineers for three years, was one of the 'guinea pigs' during the atomic bomb tests on Christmas Island. His unit spent 3 days in Honolulu and were entertained by Bob Hope and Jayne Mansfield. For more than 40 years he has been active in the British Legion. He was a key organiser in the Annual Carnival and recently he and his family worked at the Car Boot Sales, first on site and last to leave. He has been a Town Councillor for 4 years. His well-known words are 'Let me know if there is anything I can do'. Thanks to Alec for his contribution to the town. 

Tristan and Lara Marsh had a special Christmas! Their baby daughter was born on Christmas morning.

Tony Skittrall died at home in George Lane. He is mostly remembered for his 16 years’ service as Town Clerk, a job he loved. He was born here and went to St Peter’s Boys school, now the Library, and the Grammar School, at the bottom of the Parade, with his late sister, Rosemary. He had many hobbies: the Choir in St Peter’s and St Mary’s Churches, football, cricket (Hon. Life Member of the Cricket Club), Marlborough Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society and Founder Member of the Lions Club but his special hobby was gardening. He propagated thousands of plants and gave them to friends and family. Although he had been ill for some time he loved to do things with his grandchildren, Poppy and Stanley. Sincere sympathy to Anne and their daughters, Rachel and Nicola, and all the family.

Denis Ramsay came to live in Marlborough in 1962. He was in the Royal Navy from 1947-49, had lived in Swindon and in 1956 married Margaret there before moving to Burbage. Although he was busy with his work as a telephone engineer and father of two young sons he became very active here. In the Swimming Club he was a hard-working member and a teacher. In retirement he was a Liberal Democrat member of Kennet District Council and helped set up the New Road Centre. He was Chairman of the Kennet Community Bus committee and drove the bus for many years. He regularly attended at Christchurch. He and Margaret loved travelling especially in Australia and nearer to home he enjoyed the annual family camps at Totteridge Farm. His many friends and family were at Christchurch on November 29th to support Margaret and their sons and families and to give thanks for his life.

Tom Seaman was born in Mildenhall in 1946. His mother died when he was 5 and he was lovingly looked after by his Auntie Hilda in Devon or Gladys Smith in Mildenhall. Aged 7 he was sent to boarding school in Swindon. His father was a dairy farmer in Mildenhall. Tom went to Lackham Agricultural College where he flourished in all subjects relating to farming including welding and farm mechanics but he preferred construction and built his first house in Axford. He married Sarah in 1984 and together they had three children: Alex born in 1986, Dominic in 1989 and Rebecca in 1991. He ran a pig herd and built houses all around the area including a beautiful family farm house in 1995. He loved his sport. In his youth he was a great rugby player and skier but also a lover of game shooting. He taught both his boys to shoot and together they made a formidable trio. His grandson Edward was born in 2014 and was the apple of his eye. The pair were inseparable. During the past 10 years he and Sarah enjoyed spending time at their caravan in Wareham. They loved their time away including their boating exploits, some successful - some not! It was a place where he could relax, no longer on the go all the time. Tom loved people. He was full of life and full of fun. Seeing over 800 people at his funeral says it all. Tom will be remembered for his love of life, his vitality and vigour, his amazing character and, above all, his pride and adoration for his family. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Roger Upton MBE died after a long illness. He grew up in Wootton Bassett with his identical twin and two other brothers and a sister. He went to Grammar School in Swindon and then into the Horse Guards. As a teenager he became interested in Falconry which was his lifelong passion. It took him around the world especially the Arab countries. In 2014 he received his MBE for services to Falconry, Conservation and his book, The History of Falconry. He and his wife, Jean, opened the Leather Shop, now in Hughenden Yard, in 1962 and ran it together in the early years. Our sympathy to Jean, their sons, Mark and Guy, and their four grandchildren, all of whom are keen on Art and the Countryside.

Audrey Peck