Obituary: Stanley Frederick Stride

STANLEY Frederick Stride died shortly before Christmas, aged 88 years old.
He will be remembered not only as a wonderful family man, friend and local employer but also for his work in the community as a school governor at Rupert House School, a Phyllis Court Club councillor, chairman of the Conservatives in Henley, and a South Oxfordshire District Councillor.
Born into an army family at the British military hospital, Cairo, on October 6, 1937, he was evacuated to South Africa in 1940, where he spent formative years playing Rugby barefoot — sparking a lifelong passion for the game which led him to become a keen spectator member of Henley Rugby Club.

In 1948, his family was posted to Malaya during the Communist Emergency and Stanley spent much of his time at the garrison swimming pool, where a kindly “old man” took him under his wing, coaching him in swimming and diving.
Amazingly, his new friend turned out to be none other than General Urquhart, commanding General in Malaya and commander at Arnhem, later immortalised by Sean Connery in A Bridge Too Far.
Aged just 12 years, Stanley travelled alone back to England and on to Jersey to attend Victoria College.
Travelling first by armoured train, cricket bat beside his pillow to protect against bandit bullets, he then boarded a troop ship with the Grenadier Guards for the month-long voyage home.
Left largely to his own devices, he spent his time in the ship’s gym, where the soldiers taught him to box. Unfortunately, they also taught him to smoke, drink and sleep on deck — so his first few weeks at his new school were duly spent in sick bay, although he eventually emerged not only as a great swimmer but a formidable boxer, often said to be the best of his school generation.
Stanley completed officer training at Eaton Hall and joined the Queen’s, completing his national service in Germany.
Going on to work in packaging, Stanley decided it was time to settle in one place — Henley, the place he loved and lived in for the rest of his days.
In 1975, from his flat in Ancastle Green, he set up his own business, Stanley Stride Ltd, eventually Stride Group PLC, with his formidable secretary Mavis Hill.
The business grew and moved to Queen Street in 1981, to the building he named Victoria House after his daughter born the same year. He was well-known and respected in the industry, eventually employing hundreds of people and building factories across the country.