Florence Kathleen Cox

1911-2008

When Kath Cox died in the summer of 2008 Bourne was robbed of its oldest and certainly one of the town's most well-known and interesting characters, a woman with a fund of stories to tell about our past. Many of these tales, usually with a well remembered saying, were recalled during her thanksgiving service on Thursday 14th August held at the United Reformed Church in Eastgate which she and her family had supported for many years.

Friends and relatives gathered in the schoolroom afterwards to remember this remarkable lady who became a familiar sight in the town, chauffeuring Dr John Galletly in his declining years and later pedalling around on her cycle, often popping up at public events and always in time for tea, a theme used when refreshments were served under the heading “Food, glorious food.”

Florence Kathleen Sones was born on 2nd April 1911, one of the five children of Frederick and Lizzie Sones, and named after Florence Nightingale who had died the previous year, and her contribution to public life had begun in 1918 when she wrote dozens of letters to businesses in London to help raise funds for the church, then the Congregational Church, enclosing a copy of her photograph taken by Ashby Swift with each one and although only seven years old the appeal raised a much welcome £59 2s. 1d, a phenomenal amount in those days.

Kath, as she was always known, went to the Abbey Primary School followed by Bourne Grammar School, and on leaving, devoted her time to family duties, helping her mother until she died and then for an aunt and uncle who lived with her in their final years. She was also a long time friend of Dr Galletly (1899-1993), acting as his driver and as his book-keeper, a job she also fulfilled for the Jubilee Garage.

Activities in her early years included membership of the Girl Guides and helping teach ballroom dancing at the Evening Institute run at the Abbey Road Primary School, singing with the Bourne Amateur Operatic Society and acting with the Bourne Amateur Dramatic Society, committee member of the Friends of Digby Court where she helped raise money for the residents' comforts fund and a volunteer worker at the Butterfield Day Care Centre.

She was married to Bernard Cox, a local bank manager, for 21 years and survived him, continuing to live at their home in Mill Drove and supporting many organisations in the town, notably the Royal British Legion and the Outdoor Swimming Pool where she eventually became its oldest patron and always attending its important functions.

The mainstay of her life, however, was the United Reformed Church where her father had been a deacon, attending services and functions from the age of three and subsequently sitting in the same pew for 94 years, except on those occasions when she sang with the choir. Her voluntary work was equally dedicated, as church elder, treasurer, secretary, Sunday School teacher and chief fund-raising co-ordinator. In 2007, she dedicated a new lectern in memory of the Sones family who had made a positive and continuous contribution to the church since 1873.

Always keen on sport from childhood, she enjoyed playing badminton and tennis with the local clubs, swam and cycled until in her late seventies and although not a player, organised the teas for Bourne Cricket Club while her fund-raising work for the Outdoor Pool Preservation Trust was rewarded with an honorary membership. The town's Twinning Association also enjoyed her support, being its oldest member who enjoyed meeting friends she had made in Bourges each year yet still finding time to attend the Monday Lunch Club and the church's Wednesday Group until a few months before she died.

As a member of the Women's Section of the Royal British Legion (Bourne branch), she gained a reputation as an enthusiastic worker and concert party organiser, arranging flag days for the branch as well as the Sailors' Family Society of Hull for fifty years. She was also a dedicated committee member of the Bible Society for more than 20 years, a collection organiser for Christian Aid and a voluntary helper for the annual Lenten lunches held every year in Bourne.

Kath had a wonderful rapport with children and with cats and despite her wide range of activities, mostly enjoyed her home and garden. She died at the Edith Cavell Hospital, Peterborough, on 5th August 2008 at the age of 97. The funeral service took place at Marholm Crematorium, conducted by the Rev Trevor Wilson of the Bourne United Reformed Church.

See also     Frederick Sones     United Reformed Church