Rhubarb 2020

ST EDWARD’S r h u b a r b

in sport continued on at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Dad said that it was his sporting ability rather than academic achievement that helped him get there. Due to the onset of war, his time at university was curtailed and he joined the Army. He trained at Sandhurst and spent the later war years serving in a tank division in North Africa and Italy. After the war, Dad set up his caravan business with two sites, one in Sussex and the other in Dorset, later selling them and setting up as a trader in second-hand caravans. I have fond memories of helping Dad transport large residential caravans on a long trailer and also of the workhorse Land Rovers which gave a signatory backfire as he accelerated up the road. He and Zoe married in September 1954. Noelle was born in July 1955 and I arrived in June 1958. When asked about the secret of a good marriage, Dad would say ‘marry a good cook’. It obviously worked, as they had a long and happy marriage and celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in September 2019. By the mid-1970s we had moved from Sussex to the New Forest. Dad had an enduring love of dogs, having had several canine companions over the years and he loved walking them there. He also loved cars, especially the fast, sporty ones. Amongst the many he owned were a Lagonda, Jaguar SS100, a Railton and an Allard. At the start of the eighties the caravan business ended. Dad then took up running, inspired by seeing the London Marathon on television and also by the attendance of Zola Budd at a local running event. He joined the New Forest Runners Club and his running went from strength to strength. Dad also started helping me

Grand Harbour. In 1929 he attended Hildersham prep school in Broadstairs before going to St Edward’s. He joined the Royal Navy at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth in September 1939 in the same term entry as HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, then Phillip of Greece, to whom he was senior, but only by dint of alphabetic listing. He qualified as an Engineer Officer in 1943 and served in Destroyers until appointment to HMS Warspite in 1944, one of the battleships which opened the bombardment of Normandy Beaches on D-Day. In 1946, when serving on the Aircraft Carrier HMS Ocean , he had a serious accident when struck by an aircraft propeller and was subsequently invalided out of the service in 1951. His Naval career did not end there; he joined the Royal Naval Reserve in Northwood in the early 1960s and rose to the rank of Commander and was awarded the Reserve Decoration. His second career with BP started in 1952 where he worked in international marketing, later specialising with Air BP in aviation lubricants. He retired in 1978 and moved to Stratford sub Castle with Ursula to whom he was married in 1947. At

Michael Parker

V A L E T E O B I T U A R I E S

this time, he became closely involved with Salisbury Cathedral where he served as a steward and member of the council. With Ursula he ran the Close Exchange shop for many years. He was treasurer of the Cathedral Spire appeal committee and came up with the idea of selling replaced stonework as small stone souvenir paperweights. In Stratford sub Castle he was closely involved with the parish church and for many years was church warden. He helped restore the church clock which he regularly wound, often with grandchildren in tow. He was a keen member of Salisbury REMAP and he played golf regularly at High Post until he was 90. He was a keen gardener with particular Amesbury Abbey. Michael and Ursula had two children, seven grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. DAVIDSON, BRUCE (1921-2019) On 2nd November 2019, Bruce Ian Randall Davidson (G, 1935-1940). The words below are taken from a tribute kindly provided by his son Andrew. Born on 12th August 1921 near Vancouver in Canada, Dad was the youngest of four siblings. Orphaned at a young age, they were moved to Ringwood in England to live with their aunt. Dad excelled at sports at School and represented St Edward’s in Rugby and Athletics. His achievements pride in his lawn. In 2010 he moved with Ursula to

Bruce Davidson 1940 as captain

with my landscape gardening business and I have many good memories of nearly 20 years of gardening with him, until he reached his mid-80s. He was great fun to work with, very hardworking and conscientious and much admired by my customers for being so fit an octogenarian gardener. His pruning at times could be a little over enthusiastic and his occasional habit of weeding out the wrong plants was not quite so welcome. I remember Dad as a great father, optimistic, generous of spirit, hardworking, loyal and good-natured. He was full of fun, good company, entertaining, a good storyteller, a sportsman and gentleman. He had a great sense of humour, was a devoted family man, a great friend to many and was always willing to help out wherever he could. I have learned so much from him and will try to follow his example for the future.

Michael Parker 1939

Bruce Davidson

64