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extraordinary minerals that had emerged from underground. He had inherited a remarkable collection of minerals – the remains of the once famous Williams collection of specimens – and, thanks to his eager study of Dana’s Mineralogy and listening to his grandfather, he knew all about them and the mines from which they had been extracted. In later life he was delighted to be able to advise the National Trust on their minerals. New Zealander, Cornishman, Deputy Lieutenant, soldier, great countryman and field sports enthusiast, mineralogist, family historian, expert on all things Cornish and a man whom everyone was proud to call a friend – Toots was all of these things and more. But above all he was the cornerstone of a great family, and this was the achievement of which he and his wife were proudest. He was predeceased by his wife and is survived by their sons Gage and Peter, daughters Louella and Rosie and their grandchildren.

As Treasurer of the PCC for three decades, it was a brave person who queried Graham’s accounting. Someone did… Once! They were politely informed to look more carefully at the notes and they would have a better understanding of accounting procedures! Graham was renowned for his astonishing recall for dates, his depth of general knowledge and geography. For years, (when he wasn’t away cruising) he was the mainstay of the local pub quiz team. You didn’t need to Google when he was around. He is survived by his wife Peggy and the wider family circle.

Graham Leslie Woolcott (Ch ’48) Graham Woolcott died on the 30th September 2012, aged 81. He was born in Hall Green, Birmingham, in 1931 and spent much of the war in a fully furnished and carpeted bomb shelter - the house was dangerously close to the Rover car factory. It is alleged that it was at College that he took an early interest in the hospitality industry! After Chapel on Sundays, you could find him in the Bricklayers Arms, with a group of school chums, learning how a barmaid should pull the perfect pint! On leaving College, he went on to Westminster College to study hotel management and worked at five star hotels in Geneva and Paris, before returning to London to be assistant manager at the famous Goring Hotel. Graham made it his business to know who was doing what, where and with whom, and by all accounts there was nothing that he didn’t know about the cauldron of gossip that was the Goring. Which night porter slept on the job, which sous chef was dating which chambermaid! Graham was in his element. However, he yearned for the country life so he moved North to Nottinghamshire to manage the Normanton Inn, where he met the missing ingredient in his life, Peggy. They were married in 1979 and bought a small pub in Oxfordshire. They then moved back North and settled in the village of Askham, near Newark, where they spent 31 wonderful years and became known affectionately as The Woollies. On talking to those who knew Graham, there are recurring themes. He had time for everybody, not just his friends and family but for local charities, Bloom’s summer balls, for his church and the village as a whole. He was warm hearted, down to earth, thoughtful, forthright, kind, a wonderful host and always, always great company One resident of Askham said: “We have lost the most prominent man in the village”. He took pleasure in people’s company. It could take him 45 minutes to drive from one end of the village to the other, and not because he was a slow driver but because he stopped to chat with so many people. Graham was a father figure to many. Young people loved him and he took the changing scene and the pace of modern life in his stride. That didn’t mean that he felt pressured into adopting things he had no use for. His goddaughter suggested once that it was time he got a computer. “Now just a minute” he said, “I’m still thinking about whether to get a cordless kettle”.

O B I T UA R I E S All the following obituaries have been compiled from ones published in national and local papers, addresses and tributes given at funerals, and in some cases by family members, or those who knew the deceased very well. I am extremely grateful to Paul Chamberlain (HM 1997-2004) for proof reading and to Jill Barlow (Archives) for the research she has carried out and for providing some of the photographs. For those I have missed, if you would like an obituary for them published in Floreat 14, please get in touch.

Malcolm Sloan OC Administrator

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