Remembering
Gordon Vowles
Gordon Vowles {1932 ~ 2025}
He was a Trustee of the
Friends of St Lawrence – he always said that he may not have spent much time
inside at services, but that he was always outside holding up the building! He
called himself a buttress of the church.
A notable contribution was to provide a board listing all the vicars of
the parish.
Before Gordon came to
Willington, bringing with him his wife Sylvia and two children, Hilary and
Stephen, he had had a variety of jobs – all of them in education in one form or
another. What brought him to Willington
was being appointed as Deputy Director of Education for - what was then - the
whole of Bedfordshire. He commanded the
support and loyalty of many work colleagues and was always a delighted
participant in reunions, some of which took place here at the Crown or involved
a visit to the cricket in Northampton.
Gordon leaves behind many
relatives and his family were an important part of his life. He was also proud
of his Hertfordshire roots. We remember
him as a keen gardener, enthusiastic bridge player, well informed traveller and
prolific reader. On visits to his house,
you were always assured of a warm welcome and good conversation. Typically, he would turn off the snooker or
Parliament channel on his TV on your arrival.
We will miss him.
Rob Bollington
and Sue Harland
The Parish of Willington in Bedfordshire
Gordon Vowles 2025
Gordon Vowles wrote this
book during the last year of his long life.
He wrote it because he was committed to sharing what he had learned
about the history of Willington. It is a
village he had lived in for sixty years, some two thirds of his life.
During his time in the
village, he read widely and talked to many people. We know he was very appreciative of all the
ideas and information that people shared with him so generously. He saw this book as a tribute to them and to
a village he grew to love.
Knowing that time was
running out for him, he left instructions with his daughter, Hilary to make
sure the book was published after his death.
It is the last of several publications he produced about the village and
summarises what he knew and the ideas and theories he developed.
We know that had time and
health permitted he would have added to it further. Indeed, the book ends somewhat abruptly but
perhaps fittingly with a quotation from a fellow villager he admired, Bernard
West. In fact, Bernard West was one of
those who with Gordon founded the Willington Local History Group and it was
really the formation of that group that marked the start of Gordon’s foray into
village history.
Sue Harland and Rob Bollington
Our
thanks to those who provided the following tributes:
‘He
was such a kind, generous gentleman, who had led such a full and amazing life, his presence in the village will be greatly missed.’
‘I
have fond memories of him as an intelligent and witty conversation partner,
always ready to engage in intellectual and philosophical discussions, often on
the topics of history and religion. I
enjoyed working with him as part of the Friends of St Lawrence’s and
appreciated his generosity of spirit.’
‘When
Gordon spoke to (the) History Group some time ago with such detail it was
obvious that he had a varied and very interesting life, a life to be proud
of.’
‘He
was a lovely man and such a pleasure to talk to.’
‘He was one of the first
people who spoke to us when we moved to Willington, he was such a charming,
erudite, gentle man who gave so much to us all and will be sadly missed.
I last spoke to him at the
History Group AGM when he was sad that he had reluctantly just given up his
car. He was sure that he was ready to die now, having lived such a full life.
What a blessing to die at home.
How fortunate are we that
up till the end he was able to make a contribution to our lives and I look
forward to reading his last book.
God Bless Gordon.’
Mary Slevin
‘Sad news, but it sounds
like it was the right time and way to go.
Gordon contributed a lot to
the village as part of the Parish Council as well as the History Group. He
wrote many articles for the Villager, so [a eulogy] would be very appropriate
to mark his passing.’
Shane Horlock
‘A sad goodbye to one of
life's true gentlemen
God bless you Gordon’
Paul Phipp
‘Thank you for telling us.
It sounds like a good way to end a wonderful life.
Seeing him at our recent
AGM, will be a nostalgic memory for all of us.
Please send my sympathies
to his family’
Ali Cross
‘So sorry to
hear the sad news about Gordon.
He was such a kind, generous gentleman, who had led such a full and amazing life, his presence in the village will be greatly missed.
Please do pass on my
condolences to his family.’
Philippa Burrough
‘Please tell the family
that I felt Gordon was such a lovely man, and I had the privilege of knowing
him for many years. I will miss his happy greeting whenever we met. Life will
be so much duller without him.’
Margaret
Carpenter
‘How truly
sad! He was a lovely man and
one with much wisdom.’
Johannah Hickton
‘Obviously, I have known
him for many years, although not closely. He has always had Willington close to
his heart and contributed immensely. I have no knowledge of the family, but
would you kindly pass on my kind thoughts of sadness for their loss. Gordon was
an English Gentleman and he will be truly missed but not ever forgotten.’
Eileen Carter
‘Sincere condolences, he
will be greatly missed.’
John Gibbons
‘A very
knowledgeable man and always lovely to be with.’
Mike &
Valerie Martin
‘We were sad to hear of
Gordon’s death but pleased that he achieved his goal of being the oldest
resident in Willington.
When Gordon spoke to our
History Group some time ago with such detail it was obvious that he had a
varied and very interesting life, a life to be proud of. We will all miss
him and his knowledge.’
Malcolm and
Diane Beat
‘I didn’t know Gordon very
well but he was a lovely man and such a pleasure to talk to.’
Maureen Strutt
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