TERRY BUCKETT, who has died aged 56, lived almost all of his life in Henley and became both a town and district councillor as well as supporting numerous charities and good causes in the town.
He was born in Wokingham on November 13, 1952 but when just a couple of years old, the family moved to Henley and lived in The Close before moving to Vicarage Road.
Terry attended Henley Infants School, Trinity School and Gillotts, where he excelled at all sports, particularly football. He also took part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, taking on the Three Peaks challenge.
His brother, Ian, recalls how upset he was at the death of his pet rabbit and took his frustrations out by taking apart a covered seating area in The Close — assisted by Terry!
After leaving school Terry worked briefly at the Silvers menswear shop in Bell Street before moving on to Walden’s of Henley, where he took an apprenticeship in painting and decorating.
From there he moved to Messrs — now Jewson’s — before leaving and joining the Post Office in the late Seventies, a job he was to hold until he died.
He made numerous friends on his postal round in the Hambleden Valley, including Sir John and Lady Mortimer, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, author Ian McEwan, Lord Camoys and a host of others.
He would act as friend, first-aider, confidante and neighbourhood watch. He knew the names of every child in the valley and kept a close eye on the elderly to make sure they were safe and warm. He was made an MBE in 1998 after the people on his round put his name forward for the honour and last year the residents held a party for him to celebrate 30 years of service.
He played football for a number of teams in the area, including Nettlebed, the YMCA, Newtown and Sydney Green. His ability as a centre half attracted the attention of West Ham United and he was invited for a trial and told not to play in a match until after that.
The week before ths trial his team was one man short. Terry volunteered to take his place and broke his foot. The trial never happened.
He was a long-time supporter of Norwich FC. He went on to manage Henley Boys’ Football Club when he gave up playing. Terry met Pauline while she worked as a window dresser at Rowe’s fashion store on the corner of Friday Street and Duke Street.
He knocked on the window and invited her for a cup of coffee. She declined but, not one to be put off easily, Terry persevered and eventually she agreed.
They married in January 1972 and their first child, Lee, was born the following November. They moved into a basement flat in River Terrace and their daughter, Donna, was born in 1975.
Further moves saw the family living in a flat on the Gainsborough estate, a house on the same estate, Western Avenue and, in the early Nineties, Vicarage Road, which remained Terry’s home for life. Terry joined the Henley Residents’ Group and was Mayor on two occasions, 1996/7 and 2007/8. He also served on South Oxfordshire District Council.
He was an active supporter of a number charities, including the youth centre, the day centre, Nomad and the Leichlingen twinning committee.
He was also a trustee of the River & Rowing Museum and, when it became clear that Townlands Hospital was under threat, he led the battle to save it with enormous enthusiasm.
He was diagnosed with cancer of the vocal chords six years ago and after extensive treatment, was given the all-clear in September last year.When he became ill for the second time in March this year, he found contentment in a caravan at Selsey in West Sussex, which he and Pauline bought. Terry spent a number of happy days there with his family.
Apart from Pauline and his son and daughter, Terry leaves behind four grandchildren — George, 11, Millie, seven, Tom, five, and Charlotte, four months — as well as his brothers Ian, Colin and Gary, who was a twin with Carol.
Terry will be remembered by so many people as being one of the most generous, kind and hard-working men and a loving and adoring husband, father and grandfather.
Henley has lost “one of their own” and the town is worse off for his passing.
THE setting was suitably imposing, as indeed was the cast, and it left the audience entranced as they enjoyed a celebration of the life of Sir John Mortimer at Southwark Cathedral on Tuesday.
From the opening notes of As I Walked Out One Evening, written by his friend Jon Lord of Deep Purple, to the applause that rang round the church at the end of the service, it was a production that would have delighted the stagestruck lawyer and writer.
The congregation was dotted with celebrated names, including the Duchess of Cornwall, Peter O’Toole, Michael Howard, Lord Mandelson, Alan Rickman, Melvyn Bragg, Sir Peter Hall and Jeremy Paxman.There were writers, journalists, actors, lawyers, fans and friends from Henley.
Four of Sir John’s five children were at the service with his widow Penny — Sally, Jeremy, Ross and Rosie.
The only one missing was Emily who, like her sister Rosie, is pregnant but her condition meant she was unable to fly from New York.
The address was given by Lord Kinnock who spoke eloquently and passionately about Turville’s most famous resident, who died in January, aged 85.
The former Labour leader said Sir John had been a “devout unbeliever” but would have loved the “ancient grandeur” of the cathedral.
“He was, in his own words, an atheist certainly, but an atheist for Jesus,” he said.
Lord Kinnock spoke of Sir John’s love for his children and grandchildren and the “delightful revelation” — in his 81st year — of his son Ross.
“John gave affection abundantly; he also enjoyed receiving it,” he said. He was a man with a “fear of poverty, loneliness and locked lavatory doors” who was “emotionally and materially generous”.
The politician praised Sir John’s legal career and dedication to freedom, saying: “He illuminated our lives, he lit up our times. Rejoice him and be thankful. The defence rests but his soul goes strolling on.”
Edward Fox read from The Summer Of A Dormouse and the actor’s son Freddie also gave a reading from the author’s work.
Actors Sir Derek Jacobi and Patricia Hodge also spoke Sir John’s words while Joss Ackland read from Ecclesiastes. Ackland appeared in a tribute show to Sir John at this year’s Henley Literary Festival.
The choir sang beautifully, as did soprano Belinda Evans with an aria from the Marriage Of Figaro.
The readings ended with Thomas Hardy’s Afterwards by Jeremy Irons, a fitting end to a moving and amusing celebration that would have appealed to Sir John’s love of performance.
As Lord Kinnock said: “He succumbed completely to the narcotic of doing a show.”
After the service, friends and family gathered to do the only thing possible in the circumstances — raise a glass of chilled champagne to an extraordinary man.
Published on 23 November 2009
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