Tower and Town, November 2019

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Christine Spray

Christine May Spray (née Walsham) died peacefully at home in Oxford on September 26th 2019.

Christine Spray spent the greater part of her life living in Marlborough with husband Bill, raising a family and leaving finally only in 2006, moving to Oxford, where she died last month, aged 95. Born in Grimsby in May 1924, Christine grew up surrounded by Methodism, Music and, one suspects, much fun!

Leaving Grimsby’s Wintringham Grammar school, Christine attended Bedford College, London but on the outbreak of war was evacuated to Cambridge to complete her studies. It was here at Wesley Methodist chapel that she met Bill and where they got married in August 1948. Between 1944 and 1948 she worked in the MRC’s Department of experimental medicine in Cambridge, becoming a small part of the world-famous team of nutrition scientists led by Professors McCance and Widdowson. Some of the research papers Christine co-authored on digestibility of wheat, on white and brown bread, and on the chemical composition of the human body are still standard texts.

Christine and Bill moved to Marlborough in 1948 when Bill got a job teaching history at Marlborough College and from then on life in and around Marlborough was the focus of her activities. It was temporarily exchanged for nearly five years spent in Nigeria supporting Bill in his role as Head of a Methodist Teacher Training College, and home schooling two young sons, Paul and Christopher. She returned initially to Mildenhall, then Marlborough in 1958 with the birth of daughter Rachel.

Throughout the next dozen years, Christine continued her love of music, often playing her violin or viola in quartets at home, or with the North Wilts Orchestra. As a housemaster’s wife, she was also an expert and kindly host to visitors, and of course a busy mother looking after three rapidly growing children.

In 1970, they moved to Leighton Park in Reading when Bill took over as head of this Quaker school.

In 1980, Christine and Bill moved back to Manton Hollow and again threw themselves in to local parish and community activities. Only in 2006 did they finally leave Marlborough, moving to Oxford to be close to eldest son Paul. They celebrated their diamond wedding in 2008, with Bill predeceasing her in 2012.

Nick Maurice