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Friends Remembered
March 2004

Barwicker No.73


We were saddened to hear of the death in November 2003 of Geoff Hartley of Leeds Road, a very senior citizen of Barwick. He was born in 1909, baptised by Rev. FS Colman, the rector/historian, and lived all his life in Barwick. In a moving and amusing tribute at his funeral service at All Saints, his niece Gill Nichols spoke about his character and many activities. In his younger days he played cricket, rugby, badminton and tennis and was a stalwart of the Barwick Players as performer, writer and producer. He was related to many Barwick families by birth and also by his marriage to his cousin Marjorie Hague.

After attending Barwick School followed by Central High School in Leeds, he worked in his father's building business and acquired an unrivalled knowledge of local buildings. During World War II, he was a member of the Home Guard and started work for the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, a job in which he travelled widely in Britain and Europe. Marjorie sadly died in 1975.

Geoff was a good friend of the Historical Society. In addition to his constant encouragement of our activities, he supplied us with much useful information about the village and its inhabitants. On one of his trips into North Yorkshire he 'discovered' the maypole at Galfrey. He wrote five splendid articles for 'The Barwicker':
  • 'Bell Tents and Bugles'
  • 'Stepping out to the Trains'
  • the two parts of 'Barwick and its Buildings'
  • 'Barwick Players Part 3'

  • Above all Geoff was a real gentleman, kind and courteous in all his dealings. We shall miss him. In 'Stepping out to the Trains' he describes the walks to and from Scholes station with his boyhood friends, what they saw and what they talked about, and he wonders if he would ever meet them again.

    "Who knows it might be some day in some other place we boys will meet again and will continue our discussions on our vision of the world and will perhaps remember those walks we had together along that very pleasant path from Barwick to Scholes."

    The local community suffered another sad loss when Bob Hewitt of Chapel Lane died on 5 December aged 78. He was born in the village, attended Barwick School and lived here all his life. He worked in engineering and was particularly proud of this country's achievements in this field. He was a fine craftsman and he designed and built his house on Chapel Lane. He was very fond of golf, a game he took up later in life.

    The Methodist church, where his grandfather, George Hewitt, the Barwick butcher, had been a Sunday school teacher, was packed for his funeral service on 15 December with many relatives and old friends. His children, Roddy and Elizabeth, spoke fondly of his activities and attributes as part of a moving service led by Rev. Trevor Bates.

    He was a member of Barwick Historical Society since its early days and spoke on many occasions, particularly about the inhabitants and life of the village in his youth. He was a great raconteur and brought the past to life in his frequent contributions to discussions and informal gatherings. He provided much useful information about events and people for articles in 'The Barwicker' and wrote a splendid chapter on his experiences in the Home Guard in the Society's book on the World War 2, 'The Maypole stayed up', with a wealth of detail concerning weapons, training, exercises, watch duties and personel. He was an expert on local dialect and his was the first voice heard on our web site.

    Our sympathies are extended to his widow Freda, our hard-working and efficient treasurer, and all his family.


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