Obituary: Christine Ford

27th February 2017

Christine died in hospital having suffered from lung cancer over an eighteen month period. Christine’s funeral took place on 14th March 2017 at Cross Lane United Church, Newton-le-Willows.

The day started off wet, but soon became beautiful and sunny with a bright blue sky. The church was full, extra chairs had to be brought in and some mourners had to stand at the back. The atmosphere, despite being sombre, was warm, The agenda will be:- Welcome- Chair: Apologies: Minutes from the previous meeting: Correspondence: Reports: Elections of Committee: Election of deputy chair: Future Newsletters: Germany 2018: Future Events: Membership: Members questions - given to the secretary before the meeting. I look forward to welcoming you to the meeting. Lynn Marshall – Secretary NB Whilst all members are invited to attend the AGM there are now only two places left for the lunch. If you are interested in these last two places please get in touch with Sue Adams immediately and certainly not later than September 1st 2017. The cost per head for the lunch is £40 per person. A reserve list will be held if necessary. Coffee and tea will be available on arrival and the AGM will commence at 11.30 hrs. An Adventure Abroad in Germany (1965 - 1981) From the Memoirs of Peter Hall ACP- 2016 School is Everywhere - Part 2 “As a former archivist to the Association I was overwhelmed by the great quantity and variety of the hundreds of items donated by former teachers following an exhibition mounted during one of our reunions held at the Cafe Royal. A former School Meals Adviser, Arabella Kurdi, who was in Germany in the late 1940s had encouraged me to have our archives deposited at the Institute of Education at the University of London. Having received so many items over the years, I felt duty-bound to write my own memoirs, excerpts of which you may now read in this and subsequent editions of the Newsletter. Peter Hall – March 2017”. At my interview I'd had to admit that, although my initial application had stated that I was married with two offspring, I had now become, only a few days before, the father of a third child, for which I was duly congratulated. By November plans for the approaching upheaval had to be put into operation: my resignation as a Churchwarden; handing in my notice as a member of the Village Hall committee; reminding someone to take over my work on making a training film for the local Schools' Rounders’ Association; not to mention making arrangements for a family get-together for the baptism of our third infant and decisions about what and what not to take to Germany and the storage of what we would be leaving. We'd decided to sell our bungalow and, fortunately, some close relatives were in need of temporary accommodation just then and came to live in it until it was sold. The War Office letter had requested my attendance for a medical examination at the famous Netley Hospital, over-looking Southampton Water, where Florence Nightingale had worked. So it was a thrill to be going there, yet disappointing to find that the Royal Army Medical Corps was housed in a dilapidated hut nearby. I also had to obtain a certificate of dental health from my dentist and arrange for inoculations. Early in December a huge Army truck arrived with a supply of six heavy wooden crates which had to be filled, the contents listed, lid secured and the bases and lids screwed on (twenty-four" screws to each crate!) and the lengthy address painted on. Ours was not a large bungalow so the crates took up a lot of space; in fact I remember having meals on top of one of them during that time as they were not going to be collected until a few days after Christmas. 6 welcoming and full of love. Michael, Christine’s husband had planned the funeral down to the finest details - it was a service of thanksgiving, full of many personal memories giving a lovely picture of Christine throughout her life. A long term friend told everyone about Christine’s life as a child. A cousin talked about her youth and Peter Rawcliffe made us laugh, telling everyone about her time in Malta. Lynn Marshall ended the service outlining the wonderful work Christine had undertaken as events’ organiser of the BFES/SCEA Association. Interspersed throughout the service were hymns and pieces of music which were special to Christine. Michael provided the tender and sensitive dialogue that linked each part of the service. The Service was led by Reverend Gary McGowan and the organist was David Chapman. Both were dear friends of Christine and Michael. The “ladies” of the church, all friends of Christine welcomed everyone warmly and tended to all their needs including drinks and food following the Committal at Howe Bridge Crematorium. There were many wonderful and interesting things said about Christine during the service. We learned that as a child she went to church four timesday each and every Sunday. She married her teacher (Michael was the teacher of the SEN diploma course Christine studied for whilst in Germany.) She died two days before her 31st wedding anniversary. Christine’s laughter, honesty, friendliness, energy and commitment to her family and friends were recurring themes throughout the service. As the Association’s events’ organiser Christine planned, organised and managed many fabulous lunches in some very special places. She was so successful in this role because of her excellent organisational skills and attention to detail, her constant and consistent hard work and dedication, her high standards and her tenacity. She would never settle for second best and had no fear of asking awkward questions and telling staff exactly what she expected. She was fulsome in her praise when events went well and staff had worked hard and given of their best. Throughout every event Christine smiled and laughed and at the end “chucked” chocolates onto the tables. It was always a source of much amusement and served as a hidden message! THANK GOODNESS - ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL MEAL - NOW I CAN RELAX.