INCLUDING
Edward Andrew, the Rev Derek Baines, Thomas Ball, J W E "Bill" Banks, Dr George Blasson, Malcolm Boggitt, William Bradley, John Branston, Willerton Brown, Joseph Burn, John Campbell, Frederick Clarke, George Collinson, Leslie Ferriby, Brian Fines, James Fisher, Reginald Foster, Eve Frazer, William Gibson, Harry Goodyer, Cyril Gray, Roland Green, William Hall, John Hinson, Hugh and Susannah Hobson, William Kingston, the Rev Peter Lister, William Lister, John Lunn, Hugh Mansfield, John Mansfield, Jean McKenzie, Thomas Measures, Hugh (Nobby) Middleton, George Octavius Munton, William Nowell, Frederick John North, Joshua North, William Pearce, Stanley Pease, Eric Pick, Thomas Pick, William Earle Pick, John Pool, Richard Reeve, Thomas Revill, John Roberts, Eunice Rogan, Tony Rudd, William Scott, Thomas Shippey, Hannah Smith, Reg Sones, Ernest Spridgeon, Alec Stokes, Basil & Stuart Stroud, Henry Stubley, Cecil Sweetnam and George Tory.

JOHN WILLIAM EDWARD BANKS was known throughout his life as Bill Banks, a notable character in South Lincolnshire, a genial sporting gentleman with a reputation as a generous host with diverse interests as a farmer, landowner, businessman and newspaper director, serving as chairman of the magistrates' bench at Bourne and achieving a reputation as an enthusiastic motorist and a well known figure on the coursing field. His lasting achievement was to buy and convert the 18th century Witham Hall at Witham-on-the-Hill, near Bourne, into the private school it is today, thus saving a stately home for posterity.

 Bill Banks was born at Rauceby, near Sleaford, on 22nd August 1909, but lost his father at the age of nine during the influenza epidemic of 1918-19, subsequently being brought up by his grandfather, Billy Banks, and soon learned the lessons of generosity and charity after being instructed by him to stand outside the workhouse on market days and distributing 6d. to each inmate to bring a little cheer into their lives. He drove cars in the Monte Carlo and Tulip rallies and built an airstrip and coursing ground at Crowland that eventually became the East of England Coursing Club. He married Delmar Middleton after meeting her during the Paul Jones at a London ball and they moved to live at Witham, subsequently buying the hall in 1954 which was renovated for its present role as a school. Mrs Banks died in 1995, aged 82, and Bill followed on 26th November 2005, aged 96, leaving three sons, Warwick, Clayton and Ashley. He is still remembered in Bourne for handing out his own interpretation of the law during sittings on the bench with magistrates, police, court clerk and the defendant, guilty or otherwise, retiring during the lunchtime adjournment for a drink at a nearby hostelry.

JOHN BRANSTON opened his grocery and drapery business in Willoughby Road around 1860 and over the next 40 years it became one of the biggest retail outlets in Bourne, selling a wide range of goods for the housewife and home. He retired in 1901 and handed over to his only son, Thomas Elmore Branston, who built new shop premises at the corner of Eastgate and Willoughby Road of yellow brick and blue slate in 1909. 

The building survives to this day with the name Branston worked in mosaics in the floor of the main doorway entrance while his initials TEB are included in a stone date plaque on the front facade. After retirement, John Branston remained in his home adjoining the shop premises, one of two semi-detached houses built by him at Nos 2 & 4 Willoughby Road in 1900 (pictured above) and still bearing his initials on the stone date plaque on the front, and continued with his social activities, mainly as an active member of the Baptist Church which he had supported all his life. He died on Monday 6th July 1908, aged 73, after suffering a stroke which caused paralysis and loss of speech and he was buried the following Thursday in the town cemetery where the graveside service was conducted by the Baptist minister, the Rev James Carvath. His wife, Sarah, had died on Wednesday 15th May 1907, aged 75, and apart from their son, they also had three daughters. After Mr Branston's death, Thomas continued running the shop until 1913 when he sold the business to George Bett.

FREDERICK JAMES CLARKE was a magistrate for Kesteven and a member of Bourne Urban District Council who was fatally injured in a road accident while riding his motor cycle at Pinchbeck West on 11th November 1933 and died in hospital at Spalding the following morning. He was in collision with an approaching car and was thrown through the windscreen, sustaining severe head injuries and two broken legs. There was some sugar beet on the road at the time. Mr Clarke, a native of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, was a railway signalman employed at the East Box in South Street.

 He had moved to Bourne 22 years before and had been a member of the Board of Guardians and Bourne Urban District Council, being elected in 1914 and serving as chairman from 1920-21 and in 1926, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace. During his time in public office, Mr Clarke was a keen advocate of secondary education for working class children, housing, gas and allotments. He was also a committee member of the local branch of the National Union of Railwaymen and when the Bourne branch of the Labour Party was formed, he became its first secretary. Mr Clarke, was 50 years old and lived at Myrtle Villa, North Road, Bourne. He was a married man with two sons and a daughter, was also an active preacher for the Methodist Church. An inquest on Monday 4th December 1933 returned a verdict of death by misadventure and the lady driving the car involved in the accident, Miss A Riseley of Pinchbeck West, was exonerated from all blame.

REGINALD FOSTER was headmaster of Bourne Grammar School for 29 years when many classrooms on the site in South Road were still housed in wooden huts. He was appointed when only 35 years old and so became the youngest headmaster of a grammar school in the country at that time. Born at Wimbledon in 1909, he was educated a King’s College, Wimbledon, and Oxford University, obtaining his teaching qualifications at London University and subsequently taking up teaching appointments at Hartlepool and Glasgow before moving to Bourne in 1945.

 He succeeded the school's first headmaster, Mr C Pask Matthews, and at that time, the school had only 137 pupils with four in the sixth form. There were no telephones, typewriter or secretary and the premises were lit by gas but during his tenure, he supervised many changes and developments and by the time he retired in 1974 at the age of 65, the wooden huts had been partly replaced by a permanent building which is still used as the main school block today while the school roll had risen to 400 with 82 in the sixth form. He was particularly interested in drama, producing the school play himself each year and on one occasion invited the Times Educational Supplement to review a performance of King Lear. On retirement, Mr Foster and his wife Nita moved to North Leigh, Oxfordshire, where she died in 1990 and he in November 2003 at the age of 94.

CYRIL GRAY celebrated his 105th birthday with a greetings card from the Queen on Wednesday 26th March 2014, making him the oldest man in Bourne. To mark the occasion he was host at a party for family and friends at the Qu'Appelle Care Home in Harrington Street where he had been a resident for the past two years and until then he was still looking after himself at home. Cyril, always known as Sib, is a retired farmer who lived at Morton for much of his life.

 His father, James, farmed there and he was born in 1909 and went to school, living at the same address in Haconby Lane for 61 years. His son, Alan, now lives in the farmhouse that has been in the family for 100 years. Cyril left school at 13 to work on the land and that became his job for life. As a small boy during the First World War of 1914-18 he remembers Zeppelins coming over one a moonlit night. In 1936, Cyril married Ethel who sadly died several years ago but as well as his son, Alan, he also has two daughters, Janet and Marlene, three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and one two-year-old great-great-granddaughter, all of whom were at the party. He said he had no special secret for living so long but added with a smile: "Working out in the fresh air, eating well and not smoking or drinking might be something to do with it."

WILLIAM HALL, a cabinet maker with premises in South Street, Bourne, was also a prominent member of H Company, the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment, based at the Drill Hall. He held the rank of sergeant and won a reputation as a crack shot, representing the company several times at Bisley, the venue in Surrey for the annual competition of the National Rifle Association since 1890, and after he had retired from the company, he was still known in the town as Sergeant Hall. He was undoubtedly the longest serving soldier in the Volunteers and when he eventually resigned in May 1890, his impressive record was detailed by the Stamford Mercury:

His length of service, his conspicuous ability as a non-commissioned officer, his almost unique success as a marksman, combined with his geniality, have rendered his name familiar among the rank and file of British volunteers. He has been practically identified with the Volunteer movement since its inauguration in this locality, having joined the 15th Company, 2nd Administrative Battalion, the Lincolnshire Rifle Volunteers, upon its formation in January 1860. He was made a corporal in 1864 and sergeant in 1871. When, in 1872, the 15th was disbanded, he joined the 18th Company, now the H Company, the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment. He has been an efficient marksman every year and upon three occasions he proved himself the best shot in the regiment. He has attended the National Rifle Association prize meetings every year since 1863 with one exception. He has been a winner at Wimbledon every year since 1872 and upon several occasions, a winner in the Queen's prize series, his successes in this competition being without a break from 1873 to1879. He secured the Prince of Wales' prize in 1873 and was the only volunteer in the county who won the three great Wimbledon badges - Queen's, Prince of Wales and St George's. He had the distinguished honour of dining with the Prince of Wales at Wimbledon in 1887 at the invitation of Lord Wantage.

In January 1891, the contribution he had made to the unit was acknowledged when he was presented with a purse of money and a handsome testimonial as a token of the high esteem in which his services to the volunteer movement were held.
Hall's politics were Conservative and he was an ardent supporter of the cause, being secretary to the Conservative Club in Bourne whose members presented him with a gold watch for his services three years before his death and handed over by Mr William Younger, MP for the Stamford division which included Bourne. He was also an enthusiastic freemason and member of the Hereward Lodge, joining soon after its inauguration in 1868, later employing his skills by making some of the furniture which is still in use today.
He retired from business in 1904 and soon afterwards, he contracted cancer with lead to a long and painful illness and after a spell as a patient in Peterborough Infirmary, he spent the final five months of his life in a Bath chair which became a familiar sight in the streets of the town. He died on Friday 7th July 1905, leaving a widow, three sons and three daughters. Two members of the volunteers represented his old company at the funeral. 

JOHN WILLIAM HINSON was a sportsman with a keen sense of humour who earned himself a reputation as one of Bourne's best loved local characters during the early years of the 20th century and he never tired of telling friends of the fun that had filled his life. He was born in Eastgate in 1880 and went to work at the age of 13 for the mineral water manufacturers of R M Mills and Company, later moving to Lee and Green, but in 1897, he moved to Nottingham for higher wages and became an apprentice bricklayer for 8d. an hour which was 1½d. more than he was getting in Bourne. He then moved to London for a spell but returned to Bourne in 1920 and stayed. Football and athletics gave him a great deal of pleasure and after winning three track events, the 220, 440 and 880 yards, at the annual sports meeting at Holbeach, Lincolnshire, in 1905, he received a cheque that enabled him buy a ring with which he married Minnie and they went to live at No 21 George Street where they celebrated their golden wedding fifty years later. He turned out regularly for Bourne Town from the age of 14 and when his playing days were over, he became a soccer administrator, serving as secretary of both the Bourne Hospital Cup competition and the Bourne and District Football League and in 1931 received a long service medal from the Lincolnshire Football Association. He was also a member of the Hereward Lodge of Freemasons and a Past Grand Standard Bearer of the Lincolnshire Royal Arch Masons. He was best known by his nickname of Nipper, because of his prowess as a runner, and had a deserved reputation as a wit and raconteur who always looked on the bright side of life, often taking to the stage to entertain his friends. He and his wife lived to be 84. John Hinson died on 14th November 1964 and Minnie in 1966 and are buried in the town cemetery. They had three children, all of whom predeceased them.

THE REV PETER LISTER, a former farmer, was appointed assistant curate at the Abbey Church in Bourne after being ordained deacon by the Bishop of Grantham, the Rt Rev Tim Ellis, on Sunday 26th September 2010 at the age of 54. He had previously been a lay reader at Bourne for thirteen years and at St Michael and All Angels Church at Edenham.

Mr Lister (born 1956) was educated at the Abbey Primary School followed by Bourne Grammar School and the agricultural college at Shuttleworth, Bedfordshire, before pursuing a career in farming and later with a grain marketing company but began training for the ministry and became a licensed reader in 1997. Mr Lister, whose wife, Pauline, is also an active church worker, had been baptised and confirmed at the Abbey Church and served a spell as head chorister. He joined the ministry team in 2003 and after a spell studying for a diploma in theology and ministry studies at the Lincoln School of Theology, he was ordained at Lincoln Cathedral on Sunday 3rd July 2011 by the Bishop of Grimsby, the Rt Rev David Rossdale (pictured above).

GEORGE OCTAVIUS MUNTON was one of the most distinguished medical men to work in Bourne during the 19th century. He lived in West Street and was one of five operating in the town at that time. They were then described as surgeons and referred to as plain Mr, the other four being Francis James Bellingham, James Burn and William Hardwick, all of North Street, and George Nicholls of South Street. George Munton's name appears most frequently in the archives of the town for the mid-19th century, indicating that he was a very busy man who went about his business on horseback to reach the sick and dying in outlying areas and it was on such a visit that he met his untimely death. On Saturday 25th November 1863, he was returning from attending a patient at Morton village when he was killed after his horse shied and threw him to the ground. He was only 57 years old. An inquest was held by the coroner, Mr William Edwards, the following Monday at the Lord Nelson Inn at Morton when Mrs Elizabeth Handford, who lived in a cottage at the roadside, said that at about 12.30 pm on Saturday, she heard the noise of a horse shying about on the road outside and heard a person speaking to it in an attempt to calm the animal. She assumed that the horse was frightened and did not go outside for fear of making the situation worse but on hearing a heavy fall, rushed out to help and found Mr Munton lying on his back on the ground with both arms outstretched and he appeared to be struggling. Neighbours came up to assist and lifted him into an armchair but he was in a most serious state. A pair of drags [a rough kind of sledge] loaded with two oak trees, stood near the hedge a little further along the road from the spot where Mr Munton's horse had taken fright. Mr Rollings Handford, son of the previous witness, said that at the time of the accident he was standing with some other men near Morton bridge which was a short distance from and in sight of the place where Mr Munton fell. He saw the horse become troublesome, shying from one side of the road to the other, and eventually throwing its rider who fell so heavily on his head that the noise was heard by him and his companions. The horse shied before it reached the drags and he did not therefore think this was the cause of the accident. Another Bourne surgeon, James Burn, happened to be in the village at that time and he arrived at the scene within a few minutes. He told the inquest: "I found Mr Munton quite insensible and at once directed his removal to a nearby house and remained with him until he died at about three o'clock the same afternoon. It is my opinion that the injuries he sustained would prove fatal and there was little that could be done. It is my opinion that death was occasioned by a fracture of the skull at the back of the head, causing extravasation of the blood [extensive bleeding] and compression of the brain." The inquest jury accepted the medical evidence and returned a verdict of accidental death but the foreman, Mr J P Parker, added a rider on behalf of the jury, warning about the dangerous practice of leaving things standing upon the sides of highways. George Munton was buried in the town cemetery. He was survived by his wife Frances Ann who died in 1904, aged 90.

FREDERICK JOHN NORTH, who preferred to be known as John, owned and ran North Shoes, the long established shoe shop established at No 18 North Street by his grandfather in 1876 and still in business to this day. He was born in 1921 and learned his trade as an apprentice in Norwich but his career was interrupted by the Second World War of 1939-45 when he joined the Royal Air Force, being assigned to Bomber Command, flying 34 sorties over enemy territories in Northern France, Belgium, Holland and Germany as wireless operator in a Lancaster bomber.

He married his wife Pamela while on leave in 1944 before returning to active duty which included a six-month spell stationed in India and when the war ended, he came home to run the family business until retiring in 1986. John North had a youthful love of soccer and cricket, joining local teams in later life and to keep fit he frequently played badminton at the Vestry Hall. He was a dedicated freemason for 56 years as a member and past master of the Hereward Lodge and was also active with the local branch of the Royal British Legion. He died on Monday 28th March 2005, aged 83, and after a thanksgiving service at Bourne Abbey he was cremated at Peterborough, leaving a widow and two married sons.

WILLIAM NOWELL headed the firm of agricultural engineers, Nowell Brothers, based in Abbey Road, Bourne, that had been established by his father, Thomas George Nowell, during the 19th century and continued in operation until 1922. But he also made his mark in public life and in 1903 he was elected a member of Bourne Urban District Council at his first attempt, securing second place in the poll. In 1907, he was re-elected with the largest number of votes ever recorded for any candidate in any previous election. He served on all of the council committees, particularly highways of which he was chairman, and it was mainly through his advocacy that the present recreation ground in Recreation Road was purchased for the town. In 1910, he was elected chairman of the council for the ensuing year during which time he earned a reputation as a man of tact and ability. In the spring of 1907, he became a trustee of Harrington's Charity, the biggest of the many charities now administered by Bourne United Charities, and during his time in office, pensions paid from the proceeds were increased, a particularly welcome benefit for those on small incomes prior to the introduction of state old age pensions in 1908. Ill health forced Mr Nowell to resign from the council in 1913 and he was soon unable to undertake any public work whatsoever. His condition deteriorated and after four months being confined to his bed, he died on Saturday 28th November 1914 at his home in Abbey Road at the age of 56. His funeral service was held at the Congregational Church [now the United Reformed Church] followed by interment at the town cemetery. The pastor, the Rev J Comyn Jones, made a touching reference to the deceased during the service. "He was a man who acted according to his convictions and conscience", he said, "and in all things he did what he thought ought to be done." There were many floral tributes, including a wreath from the officers and colleagues from the Bourne and District Liberal Club of which he was a founder member and former committee chairman. Mr Nowell's association with the Congregational Church dated back half a century because he had been a scholar at the Sunday School and in later life, continued as a regular worshipper. He left a widow and six children and his name is remembered by Nowells Lane, a short thoroughfare between Abbey Road and Recreation Road, once the site of his business premises, that was named in his honour.

STANLEY PEASE, always known as Stan, had the distinction of serving as both Mayor of Bourne and of Market Deeping. He was born and educated at Leeds in Yorkshire but moved to Bourne in 1978 on promotion while working in management at the telephone communications department of the old GPO, subsequently becoming an area superintendent. During his career he held many professional appointments connected with his work, notably secretary of the British Institute of Management.

Other appointments included chairman of the Peterborough Professional Bodies Group, member of the European Federation of Senior and Chief Executives of Postal and Communications and of the Institute of Supervisory Management of British Telecommunications Executives. He was also actively interested in education, becoming chairman of the Peterborough area Young Enterprise Board which helped pupils at sixth form level set up and run their own businesses. After retiring, he took an interest in local affairs, being elected to Bourne Town Council and South Kesteven District Council and serving as Mayor of Bourne for 1990-91. He was also a founder member and the first chairman of the Alzheimer's Society (Bourne branch), an active supporter of the Outdoor Swimming Pool and treasurer of the Butterfield Centre where he also drove their ambulance for two days every week. Stan lived in Mill Drove, Bourne, with his wife, Barbara, surprising his friends quite late in life with the announcement they they were separating, followed by a divorce, and moving to Market Deeping where he married Mary who he had met while working in Peterborough. Here, he continued with his interest in local government by joining the town council where he served on all of the authority's committees and was again elected first citizen for the year 2003-04. He died at the Van Geest Nursing Home in Stamford on 26th January 2011, aged 86, and was survived by both his first and second wives.

ERIC PICK was a familiar figure in Bourne where he worked as a butcher and local postman. He was born at The Slipe, off Eastgate, in 1925, the second youngest of nine children of George and Sarah Pick, later attending the Abbey Road Primary School where he was an enthusiastic scholar, always near the top of the class. His first job was as a clerk with the former Bourne Urban District Council in North Street but could not settle in an office environment and left to begin farm work with George Gann at Edenham.

His tasks soon became more varied, working part time in his employer's bakery but  then moved to work for Tom King at his butchery shop in Eastgate. When Mr King retired, he formed a partnership with work colleagues Harry Sardeson and Norman Sandall, trading under the name of Pick, Sandall and Sardeson. He left the business in 1966 and bought the village store and post office at Dyke, also working as as a part-time postman in Bourne. Eric had married Avice in 1956 and they had one son, Timothy. They spent 15 years at Dyke, devoting much time to their large garden which was often opened to the public for charity. After Avice died in 1987, he moved to Manning Road but spent his final years at a care home in Surrey to be near his son and his family. He died at Peterborough City Hospital on 10th August 2012, aged 87, and after a funeral service at the United Reformed Church in Bourne he was buried in the town cemetery.

WILLIAM EARLE PICK was a baker, confectioner, corn and flour merchant and miller, with premises at No 11 West Street, Bourne, where he also lived but had previously been in business as a baker and corn dealer at Thurlby and in 1899, he became involved in the arrest of 15 tramps accused of begging, a case that attracted national interest. His family had been millers for generations and his father Thomas Pick had formerly run the mill in South Street, now known as Baldock's Mill, from 1876-85. In the spring of 1912, William Pick had a serious accident in a hay field when he fell from the top of a loaded wagon on to some pieces of iron and sustained a serious head injury from which he never recovered and he died on Saturday 2nd May 1913, aged 58. He left a widow and four children, two of his sons being engaged in the business. The funeral service took place at the Baptist Chapel in West Street the following Wednesday and afterwards he was buried in the town cemetery.

The business in West Street subsequently became known as Pick & Sons but was eventually taken over by the eldest son, Harold William Pick. William Pick's widow, Mrs Betsy Ann Pick, died on 14th November 1943, aged 85, and she is buried in the same grave as her husband in the town cemetery.

RICHARD REEVE was more than half way through his term of office as Mayor of Bourne when he died in January 1987. He was rushed to the Peterborough District Hospital after swallowing paraquat at his home in Mill Drove and died ten days later in the intensive care unit. He was 50 years old. Reeve had been a town councillor since 1979. He was born at Market Deeping but moved to Bourne with his family when a baby and was subsequently educated at Stamford School. He served with the Fleet Air Arm for 12 years and then returned to the town to set up in business as an electrical contractor. During his mayoral year, he had been raising money to help the youth of the town and had already passed the target figure of £3,000. 

He was on the committee of Bourne Youth Centre and was also a member of the Royal British Legion in Bourne, the local Lions Club and a founder of the Bourne Caledonian Society for Scots living in the district. His most lasting achievement was in re-launching the Chamber of Trade and Commerce, acting as vice-chairman and publicity officer, and the organisation survives to this day. He was also an active supporter of the town twinning with Doudeville and made several successful visits to France to help seal the partnership. Mr Reeve was married to Ina, a close marriage and partnership of 13 years, and he was devastated when she died suddenly of a heart attack at their home in Mill Drove in September 1986 at the age of 46, while serving as his mayoress. He never recovered from the loss. Hundreds attended both funerals at the Abbey Church, including many mayors and councillors from neighbouring authorities. During Mrs Reeve's funeral service on Friday 12th September 1986, her last wish was fulfilled when a lone piper, Pipe Major Pat Lee, of the Stamford Pipe Band, played Amazing Grace at the graveside, thus acknowledging her Scottish roots and her work with the Caledonian Society in Bourne. At the service for Mr Reeve, on Tuesday 3rd February 1987, the mayoral chain of office was carried on the coffin until interment at Bourne cemetery where he was buried alongside his wife.

THOMAS WILLIAM REVILL was a railway clerk whose interest in politics enabled him to become chairman of Bourne Urban District Council. Born at Retford, Nottinghamshire, in 1888, he began his career in the railway clearing house there after leaving school in May 1915, subsequently moving in a similar capacity to York, Normanton, Carnforth and Glasgow, arriving in Bourne in 1932. In March 1949, he transferred to the goods office at the Bourne freight depot, retiring two years later through ill health having completed 42½ years service.

He was a lifelong member of the Labour Party and was first elected to BUDC in 1938, losing his seat in 1947 but regained it at a by-election the following year when he was appointed vice-chairman, subsequently becoming chairman for 1949-50. He remained a councillor for a further four years, retiring through ill-health in 1954, and he also served as a magistrate from 1950, a governor of Bourne Grammar School and as a steward at the Methodist Church in Abbey Road for 13 years. Mr Revill was also an enthusiastic supporter of the Toc H movement, a member of the Railway Clerks Association and a local committee member and later a director of the Peterborough Co-operative Society.
He died suddenly on Saturday 15th August 1959, aged 61, while watching television at his home, 35 George Street, Bourne, and after a service at the Methodist Church, was buried in the town cemetery. A former minister, the Rev Irving Scott, who had left Bourne in 1952 to take over a ministry at Romsey, Hants, returned to officiate at the funeral of his old friend. He left a widow, Edith, a son, Alec, and a daughter, Mrs Miriam Nixon. Mrs Revill died on 19th September 1977, aged 82, and is buried with her husband.
Mr Revill's service to the bench of magistrates was honoured on Thursday 20th August when the chairman, Mr Frederick Smith, paid his last respects to a man he described as "a faithful servant to the community" while similar tributes were paid by the clerk, Mr Arthur Kelham, on behalf of his fellow solicitors, and Inspector Leslie Ferriby, for the police force at Bourne. During his council career, Mr Revill was particularly interested in developing friendships between nations and in 1949 attempted to form twinning links with Bourne in Massachusetts, USA, and although contacts were established with civic leaders on the other side of the Atlantic, the early enthusiasm was not sustained.

Tony Rudd (right) with Peter Berthon

TONY RUDD was the brilliant engineer who played a major part in the success of British Racing Motors (BRM) which thrived at Bourne during the 20th century. He was one of the country's most successful designers of high performance cars and is best

remembered for his work on the first of the V8 engines which went on to win the World Championship for BRM in 1962 with Graham Hill at the wheel. Rudd was born at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, in 1923 and educated at Ratcliffe School, Wolverton, before starting his career with Rolls Royce in his late teens, analysing engine defects reported in Spitfire fighters and Lancaster bombers. He joined BRM in 1951 as assistant to the engineering director Peter Berthon and eventually replaced him, working on the last of the company's front engine cars, the P25, which won BRM its first Formula One race at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1959. He met and married Pamela Carvath, daughter of a local dentist, and they bought a house in Mill Drove, Bourne, where they raised three daughters, Carolyn, Lesley and Philippa. After leaving BRM in 1969, he joined  the Lotus team and moved to Little Melton, Norfolk, where he died on Friday 22nd August 2003 at the age of 80. He loved sailing, shooting, good food and wine, and is remembered for his gift of instant recall, in later years discussing with friends the finer details of designs produced 50 years before and subsequent checking invariably proved him to be 100 per cent accurate. After his retirement in 1991, Rudd wrote his autobiography It Was Fun and later collaborated with Doug Nye on BRM - The Saga of British Racing Motors. Publisher John Blunsden, former motor racing correspondent of The Times, remembered Rudd as a talented engineer and first class administrator. "He rescued BRM from the threat of oblivion", he said. "He turned the team around when he was put in charge of engineering and team management and the fact that they won the World Championship in 1962 says it all."

THOMAS SEATON SHIPPEY was the last member of a family who worked as saddlers and harness makers in Bourne for more than a century, originally occupying thatched premises next to the Nag's Head Hotel in the Market Place, on the corner with South Street, later replaced by the present three-storey yellow brick and slate building that now occupies the site. The shop can be seen above in this photograph from 1885 by William Redshaw on a market sale day, a weekly event with sheep pens erected around the Ostler memorial fountain and an an assortment of characters assembled by Redshaw to make his shot more interesting.
The business was probably in existence in the 18th century and the first mention is in trade records of 1826 under the name Thomas Shippey. Five Thomas Shippeys were born at the house, he being the last on 5th May 1841, and it was inevitable that he would take over the business and after retiring from the trade, he went to live at The Woodlands in West Road. Mr Shippey never took part in the civic life of the town although before the parish council was formed in 1894, he served for a time as a member of the Town Assessment Committee which was elected annually by the Vestry Meeting.

He died on Sunday 24th March 1918, aged 75. The funeral took place the following Wednesday at the Abbey Church, conducted by the Rev Harry Cotton Smith, and afterwards he was buried in the town cemetery (left). His wife, Mary, born 26th August 1844, survived him and she died on 11th February 1936, aged 91, and is buried in the same grave.
Mr Shippey's retirement had severed the family connection with the business and it was sold first to Robert Blacklock Sanger (circa 1900) and then Alfred James Gant (circa 1909-22) and in recent years the premises have been used as a sweetshop and now a hairdressing salon.

REG SONES, son of Frederick Sones, was a familiar face in Bourne for most of the 20th century, playing a prominent role in the business and sporting life of the town. Born Joseph Reginald Sones on 13th September 1908, he attended the old Board School (now the Abbey Road Primary) and in September 1920 was among the first 52 scholars to attend Bourne Grammar School which opened in that year at temporary premises in the Vestry Hall, North Street. On leaving in 1924, he joined his father's accountancy businesses and also undertook some freelance work as a journalist, reporting local news items for the Grantham Journal.

He met Phyllis Cooper, a fellow pupil at the grammar school, and they married at the Baptist Chapel, Dyke, on 14th March 1936. After being called up in 1940 for military service during the Second World, he joined the Royal Corps of Signals, serving with the 8th Army during the Battle of Alamein in the North Africa campaign where he was wounded but after a spell in hospital was fit enough to take part in the invasion of Sicily and he spent the rest of the war with a signals unit at Bari in Italy. Returning to Bourne on demobilisation in 1945, he took up book-keeping full time and in June 1946, joined Tuck Brothers at their garage business in Station Road where he remained until retirement in April 1977, having reached the position of secretary and managing director. Swimming was a lifelong passion and apart from his involvement with Bourne Swimming Club for 69 years, he also took a regular early morning dip at the outdoor pool from May until September each year. Reg was also a life member of Bourne Cricket Club and although appearances on the field were rare, he was the regular scorer while both he and Phyllis were keen playing members of Bourne Hockey Club with occasional games of badminton when time permitted. He was also an active member of the Bourne Chamber of Trade, serving as secretary for twenty years from 1945-65, a past president of Bourne Probus Club, a life member of the Bourne branch of the Royal British Legion and a regular worshipper at the United Reformed Church where he was also a trustee and treasurer of the Sunday School for 56 years. In his later years, he went to live in Worth Court and died in Grantham Hospital on 4th January 2003, aged 94, the funeral service being held at the United Reformed Church in Bourne on January 15th followed by cremation at Peterborough.

ALEC STOKES was a key worker at British Racing Motors (BRM) for over 30 years, from 1946 until 1977, playing a major role in the company's success. He was born at Crowland in 1925 and joined BRM as a draughtsman in November 1946 before the first car actually took to the track, progressing to chief draughtsman and transmission designer specialising in gearboxes and achieving a formidable reputation in the motor racing world as a transmission designer for Formula One cars.

He is also credited with designing the gearbox for the car which won the world championship in 1962. Mr Stokes stayed with BRM until 1977 before concluding his career with Lotus but remained passionate about the company and was a notable team player, popular with his colleagues, always ready to hold social events to cement relationships. Even after he retired, he continued to organise reunions for his former colleagues, keeping a list of all 247 people who had worked for the company from the early days, their addresses and telephone numbers. He also wrote three technical books on transmission design and a book on BRM was in draft form when he died. In 1993, he became an associate member of the British Racing Drivers Club.
Mr Stokes also had a passion for sport, playing in goal for Bourne Town Football Club in the late 1940s and early 1950s, subsequently becoming manager of the reserve side and refereeing in minor league matches. He was a keen ornithologist and an active member of the Bourne Probus Club. He died at Peterborough District Hospital on Tuesday 8th November 2005, aged 80. His wife Betty died in 1977 and they had two children, a son Paul and a daughter Paula, and three grandchildren. A service of thanksgiving was held at the Abbey Church in Bourne on November 18th followed by cremation at Grantham.

BASIL STROUD was born at Quorndon, Leicestershire, in 1914, to Ernest and Daisy Stroud, the eldest of four children, and shortly afterwards, the family moved to Bourne to found the Bourne Hygienic Laundry in Manning Road. He was educated at Leicester Primary School and Loughborough Grammar School before beginning a career in the engineering industry, joining Brush Electronics, Loughborough, when he was 16 and improving his knowledge by attending classes at the local technical college. During the Second World War of 1939-45 he worked in a reserved occupation with the Ministry of Aircraft Production at Grantham and in 1946, moved to Bourne to assist his parents in their new business where he remained until retirement, specialising in the engineering side of the company's operations and was responsible for the introduction of many new specialised items of equipment associated with the laundry industry. He married Mabel Wilford at Little Bowden Parish Church, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, on 11th January 1941 and they had a son, Norman, and a daughter, Elaine. His hobbies included gardening and anything mechanical, particularly his car, and he was also a keen caravanner until well into his eighties, touring extensively throughout Britain. Basil Stroud was an enthusiastic freemason, belonging to several local lodges, and the longest serving member of the Probus Club of Bourne. He died at his home in West Road, Bourne, on 11th January, 2006, aged 92, and his funeral was held at the Abbey Church, followed by cremation at Peterborough. He was survived by his wife Mabel, their two children and families.

STUART STROUD, younger brother of Basil, was both a successful businessman and sportsman, best remembered for his association with the family firm of Bourne Services Group and his activities with the town cricket club. He was born at Quorndon, Leicestershire, in 1925, to Ernest and Daisy Stroud, the youngest of four children, and shortly afterwards, the family moved to Bourne to found the Bourne Hygienic Laundry in Manning Road. Stuart went to Bourne Grammar School before taking an engineering degree at Nottingham University although his studies were interrupted by the Second World War of 1939-45 when he served as a navigator and observer in the Royal Navy, returning to graduate in 1949 before joining the family firm where he was responsible for the transition of the company from a small domestic laundry to a major supplier of clean textiles to hotels throughout the Midlands and East Anglia. His engineering skills were also acknowledged throughout the  laundry industry where he was recognised as a pioneer, introducing many new processes which others have since copied. Stuart was also an outstanding athlete and sports administrator, filling almost every office at Bourne Cricket Club from player to captain, secretary, treasurer, chairman, president and finally patron during a 50 year association when he also played for the county and, in 1984, served as president of the Lincolnshire County Cricket Club. He also made a significant contribution to youth cricket and in 1967, he became a founder member of the Rotary Club of Bourne, later its president, and was honoured with the prestigious Arthur Harris award for outstanding service. He died on 26th December 2003, aged 78, after a long illness, leaving a wife, Ruth, who he had married in Oxfordshire in 1954, a son Hedley, and a daughter Claire. The family had lived in Bourne for nearly 40 years until moving to Thurlby two years before he died. A thanksgiving service was held at the Abbey Church on Thursday 8th January 2004 followed by a private cremation at Peterborough.

CECIL WALLIS SWEETNAM worked as a family doctor in Bourne during the latter half of the 20th century, earning a reputation as a doctor who believed in the value of meeting patients in their own homes rather than at the surgery. He was born at Wimbledon on 29th November 1919 and became a medical student at Trinity College, Dublin, qualifying in 1944, and in 1951 he joined Dr John Galletly at his practice in North Road, Bourne, where he remained until retirement in 1987. During this time, he also served as medical officer at St Peter's Hospital and assisted in the treatment of tuberculosis at Bourne Isolation Hospital as well as practising obstetrics and anaesthetics, all in addition to his work as a general practitioner.

Dr Sweetnam was a founder member and past president of the Rotary Club of Bourne and a keen swimmer, notably at the Outdoor Pool where he was among an enthusiastic band of early morning swimmers who took exercise before going to work. Despite being in good physical health, his life after retirement was dogged by illness and heart bypass surgery followed by a series of strokes left him struggling with his mobility and he never fully regained his power of speech. He died on 6th September 2004, aged 84, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, Norfolk, and after a funeral service, his body was cremated. A thanksgiving service was held at the Abbey Church, Bourne, on Friday 24th September attended by his widow, Jean, and their three children, David, Judy and Kate, and fellow doctors paid tribute to his public work.

GEORGE TORY was a candle maker in Bourne in those days before electricity, when candles were used for lighting in the home and all towns had small businesses that specialised in their production and sale. The leading tallow chandlers in Bourne during the 19th century were Edward Wherry and Sons with premises in North Street and Eastgate. Their senior tallow chandler was Mr George Tory who is pictured left circa 1890 with his latest batch of candles ready for sale. George was born at Dyke in 1846 but his mother died and his father, Thomas Tory, re-married before emigrating to America in 1850, leaving his four-year-old son with relatives, and he never saw his father again.

George married Mary Ann Allen of Frampton, near Boston, and they had eight children. He was employed by the firm for most of his working life, living first in New Street and then at No 7 Exeter Row, Back Lane West, which was off North Street. He died in 1914 at the age of 68.