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Obituary - Harold Pickering : Paull's Oldest Resident : Harold Pickering was born in Paull in 1915 and spent all of his boyhood in the village, just like many generations of Pickerings had before him. He was educated at the village school then left the village for the first time to take up an apprenticeship with the Jowett car company as an upholsterer, returning in 1936 when his father died and resuming his trade with the East Yorkshire Motor Company. The outbreak of war, however, changed Harold's life forever, as it did for so many young men. Enlisting in the 51st Highland Division of the Eighth Army, Harold saw service in North Africa and served under General Montgomery at the Battle of El Alamein, finally returning to the UK and being based at Hemel Hempstead. This was a lucky chance, for it was there that he met Joyce Nurse and in 1945 they married, Harold returning to Paull with his young bride in 1946. Once again Harold resumed his trade, this time at the Kingston General Hospital, where he also took an active part in the hospital's social life and played in the hospital football team. In 1955 Joyce's parents also moved to Paull to run the village shop-cum-post-office, so when they retired in 1965 it was only natural that Harold and Joyce should take over from them and for Harold to enter the stage of his life for which he is probably best-known. Harold and Joyce became "Uncle Harold" and "Auntie Joyce" for a whole generation of Paull children, and on any child's birthday they could be found in the shop, waiting to collect their birthday bar of chocolate! Harold's shop was an Aladdin's Cave, a real old country village shop, where just about ANYTHING could be found - or if not, Harold would promise to "get some when I go to the warehouse." It was the sort of shop that had a chair by the counter, for customers who were in no hurry and wanted to stay awhile, find out what was going on in the village, and pass on news in return. Those who lived in Paull at the time will surely remember Harold's evil West Highland White, Mac - wicked but still loved, at least by Joyce and Harold - who reigned supreme, and will have many fond memories of those days. Harold also kept up his footballing connections as a member of the committee of Paull Wanderers Football Club and always enjoyed the weekly team selection meetings, which invariably culminated in a game of dominoes in the pub! Harold decided to retire in 1980 when the opportunity arose to buy a house in the village, but retirement from the shop didn't mean retirement from village life and it gave Harold even more time to devote to the church. Throughout his life, Harold's most devoted service was to St. Andrew's, Paull's parish church, where he was baptised, confirmed and ultimately buried. He served as Churchwarden for a magnificent 67 years and when ill-health in his later years confined him to his home, his clear voice leading the hymns at every service was greatly missed. Harold died on October 11th at the age of 87, the village's oldest resident, but his memory will linger long in Paull and the church will never be quite the same without him. We don't feel that he's really gone, however - and his widow Joyce, giving instructions for the repair of a leaking down pipe on the church tower, was heard to say, quite rightly, "…and you'd better do it right, because don't forget, Harold's still watching you!" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- Hedon Friendship Circle : the next meeting will take place on Wednesday October 30th, at 7.45p.m. in Hedon Methodist Church. The speaker will be Jim Hogg and he will be talking about Eddie Stobart, whose lorries in their smart green livery are instantly recognisable throughout the country. 'A Giant Stride' : The next Afternoon Tea to be hosted by the Mayoress of Hedon will be on Friday, November 1st. Subtitled 'from Hedon to the Galapagos', the talk will be given by Moira Crees and it sounds very intriguing! Moira Crees has done many things in her life and guests will no doubt be fascinated to learn how she made the giant stride. The 'talk and tea' afternoons in the Town Hall are proving very popular and are aimed at raising funds for the Mayor's Charity. Tickets have already gone on sale, as the last 'teatime' sold out! The afternoon begins at 2-30pm and the tickets are available from the Town Hall or by phone 891050. Remembrance Day Parade : Paull War Memorial Committee have organised a Remembrance Day Service for Sunday, November 10th at 3pm at the Paull War Memorial (at the junction Town End Road and Back Lane.) Any individuals or organisations wishing to attend this parade are more than welcome, and the Village Hall will be open from 2.30pm for their convenience and bags, coats etc., can be safely left there. Temporary Road Closure Notice : Baxtergate in Hedon will be closed to all traffic on Monday 11th November in order to enable Transco to lay new gas pipes. Although the closure order is for three weeks, it is anticipated that the work should take no more than two days to complete. As Baxtergate is part of Hedon's one-way system, residents and bus passengers will need to take alternative routes in this part of Hedon but as far as is possible disruption will be kept to a minimum. Church Services for Sunday November 3rd : |
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