Obituaries
In 1950, John had married Helen Parry, a nurse he had met while working at Redhill railway station. They had a son, Chris, who was born in Dover, and then a daughter, Lindsey, who was born in Carshalton, Surrey, while John was working in Calais. While the family was in Brussels in the 1960s, Helen was diagnosed with a cyst on the brain, from which she subsequently died in 1969. He remarried in 1970 to Mavis Redhead. To help achieve his aim to retire in France, John and Mavis found a ruined farmhouse to restore in Leotoing in the Auvergne. After retirement, they became integral members of the community in Leotoing, but also found time to travel extensively. John was a keen gardener and was given a portion of a field where he grew most of their vegetables. He also became the treasurer of the bar in the village hall, saying that this was because he was the only one they trusted! Towards the end of his life, he was plagued by ill- health, mainly a debilitating loss of the use of his legs caused by a rare virus, which he probably contracted in hospital while undergoing a knee operation. He also suffered from macular degeneration of his eyes, and was very poorly sighted by the time he died, having been lovingly nursed for many years by Mavis. He died suddenly in hospital on 11th October 2009, and is survived by Mavis, his children Chris and Lindsey, and what was left, despite his best efforts, of his wine cellar. Chris contributed significantly to this obituary.
temperature. But Peter was nothing if not resilient and he was determined to ‘battle on’ – a catch phrase he often used, especially in his later life. He was put in an iron lung upon his return to the UK and survived, although the disease affected his legs badly. One leg was worse than the other and he had to learn to walk again. He soon managed without the leg callipers and eventually walked without a stick until, in later life, his legs failed him, although he always had a limp. Peter’s parents moved to Beckenham in 1951. Edna had married in 1950 and was now living in Java but returned to the UK in early 1952 when daughter Gillian was born. Then the family were all living together in Beckenham, and this continued after Edna’s husband and Gillian’s father was killed in 1953. Peter took on the role of ‘father’ to Gillian, playing cricket with her on the lawn and drilling her with the names of the players in the England cricket and rugby teams. He also went to college, at the Brixton School of Building, to study building and structural engineering in order to join E D Hook Limited, the building and decorating company of which his father was Managing Director. Having completed his college course, Peter duly joined the firm and worked with his father until Dick died in 1987. Peter then continued the business alone, but as he was already aged 60, he soon started running it down as he himself prepared for retirement. After his parents had died, he continued to live in the family home in Beckenham, but changed nothing about the house, retaining flimsy or broken chairs and an old oven in the kitchen that really belonged in a museum. His sister Edna, married again, to Charles in 1961, and another daughter, Elizabeth followed in 1963. They also lived nearby in Beckenham, so uncle and godfather Peter was a frequent visitor. Peter was a long-time member of Dulwich and Sydenham Golf Club, playing there regularly with friends. He had a dry sense of humour and was a mine of information (of varying degrees of usefulness). He loved cats, particularly Mia, who was his faithful companion for a number of years. He was wary of strong women especially after his sister, Edna, died in 1996. He never married himself but got close once and regretted not having done so in later life. After his harrowing experience in India during National Service, he was not a great traveller beyond the shores of the UK, or even beyond the Home Counties, if he could possibly avoid it. He was never a fan of holidays at all, believing that ‘you go away to rough it’. During the last six years of his life, Peter was fortunate to have a couple, Jim and Sally Cleary, who cared for him, as he was no longer able to drive and was ultimately confined to a wheelchair. This enabled him to remain in his own home until nearly the end. He survived by his two nieces and by five great nieces and nephews. Father Leon Carberry and Peter’s nieces contributed significantly to this obituary.
Peter Henry Herbert (1940-44) 29.11.1926 – 06.09.2014
Peter Herbert was born in Norwood, the second child and only son of Henry (known as Dick) and Vi Herbert. There were only 18 months between Peter and his elder sister Edna, who was very jealous of all the attention her little brother
received, although the siblings always remained close. Dick and Vi lived in various rented addresses in South London, before eventually purchasing a property in Farren Road, Forest Hill. Peter went to St. Dunstan’s College, Catford, and at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he was evacuated to Bookham, Surrey. He then came to Dulwich, attending the College from 1940 to 1944 and being evacuated at one point to Hildenborough, Kent. He loved his time at Dulwich during which he was in Spenser, was on the science side and participated in most sports, especially House cricket and rugby. He was to follow the OA Rugby Club for many years, attending the matches and writing up match reports for the College. After he left Dulwich, Peter was called up to the Officers’ Training Corps, in preparation for National Service in the Army, where he was a Corporal. He was sent out to India, but while there he contracted polio and nearly died. His recollection of being sent home ill on board a ship was of being delirious with a very high
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