Some residents may already be aware of the sad news that Richard Worthington died over the Christmas weekend. A resident of Saxonbury Avenue for many years, and a former landscape architect, he was a prominent member of the Friends of Sunbury Park, especially interested in Orchard Meadow and Hawke Park; and was a supporter of LOSRA's stance on local planning applications - he spoke in objection to the London Irish planning applications at the special planning committee at Kempton Park. He had a stroke during the week before Christmas, and died a week later. He leaves his wife June. The funeral is at Hanworth Crenatorium on 25th Jan at 12 noon, and afterwards at Sunbury Cricket Club.
And last weekend we received the sad news that John Stamp died on Friday at Princess Alice after a 25-year battle against cancer. John, of course, designed the Sunbury Embroidery - he was formerly the chief designer at Thames Television, responsible for some famous title sequences including World At War. A trustee of the Embroidery, he continued his innovative work after the Embroidery was completed, and shortly before his death, the tactile displays for the visually impaired, cast from his three dimensional clay models of the Embroidery panels, were installed as part of stunning new modules at the Gallery. He was a remarkable personality, and despite the increasingly insidious effects of his cancer, he was still greeting visitors at the Gallery on Sundays as recently as last autumn until it became too difficult for him. His family, including his wife Jeanette, was with him when he died.