Dad (Alan) was born in Newington Green on 21st April 1925, the second of four children, after his brother David with his sisters following – Elizabeth, and then Christine, who I am so pleased to say is with us today.
Alan’s father Harry, came from humble beginnings and at an early age had to provide the main income in support of his mother as she strove to raise her family of several children following the early demise of her husband. Harry was a teacher at St Olav’s Grammar School then at Tooley Street, near Tower Bridge at the time Dad was born, later rising to senior teacher – a great achievement given the challenges of his background, and one that dad always had great admiration for. Alan’s Mother, Winnie, came from Scottish descent near Dundee until her family moved to Islington, North London in order to run a successful grocery business.
Alan went to Stillness Road School, Forest Hill before progressing to St Olav’s School where his father taught. Although St Olav’s was a highly respected school Dad said it was not always the ideal situation as his father could make his life difficult at times in proactively ensuring that no favouritism was seen. Conversely, his peers often implied that that favour from his father was apparent, a ‘no win’ situation for him! He moved to Torquay in Devon when St Olav’s was evacuated there to escape the London bombing in World War Two. Here at 17 he joined the Home Guard in Devon. Part of his role in the service entailed observation and he vividly recalled seeing a German Focker Wolfe 190 flying very close below him through a Devon valley and how strange it seemed when he saw the pilot actually wave at him!
In 1943, at 18 he was conscripted into the RAF where because of his aptitude he was channelled into intelligence training. In March 1944 he was sent to India on the troopship RMS Mooltan in preparation for the liberation of Burma. Dad’s service in this war theatre had, as it did to many people, young and old, a very marked impact on him. At the tender age of 19 he was sent into the Burmese jungle as part of a small patrol that sometimes operated behind enemy lines with the task of listening out to Japanese Air Force radio communications to gather information. He witnessed, although barely spoke of some of the atrocities of war that never left him for the rest of his life. At the cessation of hostilities in the Autumn of 1945 he was sent to Hong Kong where he enjoyed a more peaceful life until mid 1946 when he returned to the UK to study for a degree in Classics at Keble College, Oxford. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1952 he took a position at Shane Roscoe Solicitors in Holborn where he was to practise mainly civil law for twenty years. In 1971 he rose to the position of Taxing Master (in his words a ‘minor judge’ and I hasten to add nothing to do with Her Majesties Tax and Revenue Office) in the Royal Courts of Justice in the Stand where he remained working until his retirement in 1991.
Away from work, Dad had many interests. He became heavily involved with both the spiritual and practical support of St Saviours Church in Forest Hill. Here in his early married life he helped run the local scout group (11th Forest Hill) with some colleagues who would become life long friends. Further service to scouting included the rebuilding of the scout hut and becoming the Chairman of the Forest Hill and Sydenham Scout Group Supporters Association for many years, gaining the Scout Association Medal of Merit for such service in 1981.
Dad liked to travel and meet new acquaintances. We have many fond memories of holiday camps when we were young, and trips to Germany and Austria when older. In later life too he continued to enjoy travel home and abroad, with a final visit to the Rhineland when he was 90. Later in life too, dad was able to rekindle the earlier interests of his youth, joining steam model engineering groups, and building model railway layouts while both in Forest Hill and later in Billericay, giving him much pleasure and purpose in life.
Dad would unerringly state that the most important part of his life was his wife, our mother Alma, whom he met at the solicitors’ office where they both worked. She soon became the love of his life and in September 1952 they married in High Cross, Tottenham. They were very compatible and all the more so because they had very different personalities. At times dad could get very frustrated with people (including with us, his children!), and at times with the ways of the world –- but Mum was always a calming influence. They had a wonderful marriage, having 62 years together before Mum sadly passed away in 2014. Strong family values united them both, and they demonstrated these in the upbringing of we 3 children – my brother Keith, myself, and our brother Matthew. We were very lucky to have had our parents. He and our mother consistently supported us, providing us with values that have helped shape who we are today. Later they were to enjoy 5 grand children: Jessica, Oliver, Jack, Jacob and Rosalind, and by the time dad died, 4 great-grandchildren: Billy, Annabelle, Henry and Freddie.
In summing up our father, those of you who knew dad will agree he was a man of strongly held ideas. He valued highly qualities such as honesty, hard work and loyalty. As such he stressed the importance of the rights and living standards of – as he would put it – ‘the ordinary man’, and was critical of those who had wealth and privilege but little understanding and care for the rest of society. Such views underpinned his role as solicitor for various unions, and his work for the Trade Union Congress in the 60s and early 70s. In the 1960s he also canvassed for the establishment of a new building society that would help those who had difficulty obtaining mortgages, specifically addressing the disadvantage of Caribbean immigrants at the time. He had much empathy with fellow members of the armed forces, proudly marching with the Burma Star Association in the annual Cenotaph services in London. Dad was generous with his time and effort in supporting others, helping relatives, friends and neighbours, including freely giving of advice to those who may have got into some minor trouble with the law.
Alan was always keen to talk to people from all walks of life, to listen to their experiences and to learn about them, and indeed throughout his life he was always trying to extend his knowledge. He took a variety of evening classes over the years, with German an especial interest. He was always to be found with a book in hand reflecting a wide range of reading matter – willing also to read the works of writers with whom he disagreed, to listen to their arguments in order to refine his own thinking. He wasn’t afraid of advancing thoughts not held by the many, an example being his firm predictions of the 2008 economic crash, repeatedly stating that the seemingly positive economic trends over the years leading up were unsustainable.
Dad’s Christian faith was a constant support throughout his entire life. He considered entering the church as a young man, and although ultimately believing himself unsuited, he prepared candidates for confirmation at St Saviours, Forest Hill for many years. Before retirement he trained for the office of lay reader in the Diocese of Southwark, with his funerals being especially appreciated for the efforts he made to ensure the tributes he wrote were fitting portrayals of the lives and qualities of the deceased. On moving to Billericay aged 80 he joined the congregations at St Mary Magdalene Billericay, and later The United Reform Church. When physical frailty prevented church attendance in person he watched services on the TV, and a history of the St James Bible was a firm favourite in his last years. Dad’s faith sustained him through the premature death of our brother Matthew as well the loss of our mother. In the tribute he wrote to Alma for her funeral he finished – ‘By the Grace of God may she be granted a place in God’s kingdom. May I, unworthy as I am, be allowed to join her there’.
