52
MIDSOMER NORTON LIFE
PASSING OF A MUCH LOVED TEACHER
he town lost one of its best known and much loved figures with the recent death of Norman Voake on 14th May 2016.
Methodist church and remained in this role until very recently when ill health forced him to stop preaching and instead become a parishioner.
Norman was born in Cardiff in 1931 and went to Michael Hall School until 1947 when he got his first job working for G.E.C in Cardiff. In 1949 he requested to complete his National service which saw him become part of the Royal Fusiliers until 1951. In 1954 Norman decided to further his education and he studied at Westminster College in London. He took up his first teaching role in 1956 in a small school in Cornwall but this role gave him the bug and his career in teaching took off from here.
1969 was the year that he gained his diploma in working with special needs and he was appointed as head of special needs at Somevale school, a role which he loved and talked of very fondly. Over the next 18 years Norman taught hundreds of Midsomer Norton pupils both at Somervale but also as part of the Norton Radstock Orchestra where he played the clarinet.
T
He came to Midsomer Norton in 1959 when he joined the staff and Somervale School, working with children with special educational needs. In 1960 Norman also became a local preacher at the
In 1988 Norman decided to take early retirement and his love of discovering our locval history came to the fore front of his life. Norman spent many years researching the schools in Midsomer Norton from as far back as the 18th century and when all this information was compiled he produced a series of books, focusing on the schools we