Obituaries 2013

Obituaries
People Remembered 2013
Obituaries Index │ Fallen Heroes

Bert Cockins 1915? - 2013

Bert was a very keen cricketer and also a footballer. He was 98 years old and lived in the village most of his life. He was born in Chellington and worked as an engineer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, making parts for various experimental aircraft, including the Harrier.
As an expert welder he carried out work in his retirement for local people. Bert was a familiar figure around the village and sadly missed.
David Cook

Josephine Elizabeth Mary (Jo) Morris 1926 - 2013

Richard Gilbert (Dick) Watson 1926 - 2013

Dick left school at 14 and apart from during the war, he worked on farms all his working life mainly helping with the livestock.

During the war he became a Bevin boy. Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in the coal mines of the United Kingdom, from December 1943 until 1948. Chosen at random from conscripts, but also including volunteers, nearly 48,000 Bevin Boys performed vital but largely unrecognised service working in the mines, many of them were not released from service until years after the Second World War ended.

This was probably true of Dick, because in 1948 he met and married Sally whilst still working around Doncaster.

After being discharged as a Bevin boy he returned to Bedford and started working on the land again and in 1957 he and Sally moved to Felmersham where they remained for the next 54 years until the moved to Sharnbrook.

During this time Dick was employed by the Cook family as a stockman on Harowdene Farm. He fed the pigs, and cattle. He pulped mangles mixed with chaff to provide the staple food for dairy cattle. He mucked out the pig sties. He was always in the yard where he loaded and unloaded lorries with corn and cattle cake and he kept the farm clean and tidy and helped at harvest.

When the farm went arable he left after a few years and went to work at Colworth as a grounds man. Dick also helped Harry Robinson.

Dick enjoyed gardening and he thought the world of Sam, a Jack Russell, see photograph.

Dick was the much loved husband of Sally and father to Richard and Jenny, a good friend to Vera and will be sadly missed by Valerie, Linda and the family in Doncaster and by all who knew him.

Revd Robert Evens with additional material by David Cook

Rachael Burke 1993(?) - 2013

Rachael Burke died at the age of 20 years from Vascular Cancer. Rachael who lived in Sharnbrook requested that she was buried in Felmersham churchyard. A private funeral service was held at Felmersham church on Thursday 25 July 2013 and and a Celebration of Rachael's life was also held at Felmersham church on Sunday 28 July 2013.


Phyllis Welsh 1914 - 2013
Phyllis was born on 17 March 1914, four months before the start of World War 1.

If you wish, you can record the death of someone dear to you by writing a short obituary for insertion into this section. The person may have died some years ago, the only qualification is that they must have spent some of their life living in the parish of Felmersham or Radwell.