The youngest of four from a troubled family, Dad survived the blitz, including a bomb that decimated his house whilst he huddled in a cupboard with his brother Ray. Later they went through the trauma of being evacuees. The disturbing sounds of bombs and probably family rows he attributed to his extreme sensitivity to noise. He perhaps partly overcame this by developing an intense love of music, a violinist himself, I remember him speaking of the moving occasion when he met the famous Russian violinist, Jascha Heifetz. Indeed, the last book he was reading at the time of his final illness, was a commentary on Wagners Tristan and Isolde.

His  Christian outlook on life led him to a great many paths and interests. Having worked on farms as a teenager he trained at the Surrey farming institute and often spoke of early morning hours tending to cattle as well as ploughing fields with horses. Whilst working on a farm in his beloved Sussex, he joined the local Church and met Jennie, my Mum and had an amazing 64 years by her side.

Dad was always understated in his abilities and achievements, but those who listened to his sermons and those who knew him closely became aware of his rich knowledge and wide range of reading, with which he was generous, often enabling others to see more deeply into aspects of life. He did of course have a marvellous sense of humour and would sometimes turn such compliments into a joke about himself.

He lived a quite selfless life as a Baptist minister, supplementing his wage’s with antique restoration, often helping others with their furniture repairs, and one memorable restoration of an English square piano, probably one of the earliest examples of its kind. Dad was also a member of the RSPB and Woodland Trust. He was in part responsible for saving Coggeshal Barn, as well as other historical buildings. Some of my favourite memories are of playing cricket with him down the meadow or on our back lawn. 

He is survived by his wife Jennie,three Children, Carolyn, Carey and Marcus as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren and his eldest brother Alan and half-sister Margaret.