Tower and Town, July 2017 (view the full edition)Family NewsSammy James was remembered at his funeral in St. Mary's and buried in the cemetery alongside his late wife, Queenie, and their daughter, Karen, where his family and friends had left an amazing number of floral tributes. He was well known in the town, was very keen on playing darts in the Lamb, loved watching football and enjoyed a bet on the horses. Our sympathy to his children, Charlotte, Bert, Lily, John and Betty and their families. Bruce Spackman was a familiar face in the High St. He assisted his son with his window cleaning business. He and Pat had been married for 54 years. For their first date he took her to an Elvis Presley film. St. Mary's was full for his funeral and later his 14 grandchildren released 80 balloons because he had almost reached his 80th birthday. He had many hobbies, having played cricket and followed horse racing. Lots of us remember that he had a very successful day when he bet on Frankie Dettori who rode seven winners on one card at Ascot. Pat is comforted by their children, Derek, Sylvia, Susan and Ian after his sudden death. Our sympathy to all the family. Sylvia Stroud has written an online book about her life here in Marlborough during the WW2. She was born and still lives in Chopping Knife Lane. Her daughter, Carolyn, has spent an hour each evening for many months writing her mother's memories of rationing, evacuees, American soldiers and the slow recovering after the war. The book is called, 'Born at Chopping Knife Lane'. John Bateson died in mid-May. He came to Marlborough in 1973 as a teacher of German at the College, becoming the first Head of that language. He was a gifted amateur musician and used his many talents to the full. Sadly he had to take very early retirement, on medical grounds, in 1997. He threw himself into activities in the town. Most notable was his work in the late-lamented Tourist Information Centre, where a trio of volunteers provided such splendid service. John also worked with St John's School giving support to the Extended Learning and Year 10 interview projects. In Swindon he worked on school appeals panels right up to the end, devoting much time to the complex paper work involved. His passing leaves a huge gap in the lives of his friends.  Audrey Peck |