For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Lorraine and Viv was my lovely Uncle.

Two simple words describe my Uncle Viv – he was a ‘gentle giant’ with a great big heart and a keen sense of humour. He was dearly loved and cherished by his wife June, by all his family and by his friends.

Viv was the only child of his parents Stanley and Ellen and he grew up in Coleford during the war years. He would often tell us lots of stories about all the antics and mischief he got up to as a choir boy and with his friends, some of whom were evacuees that he has remembered well all his life.  

As a young man, he learnt to play the Baritone Horn; (partly as a remedy for childhood pneumonia) he later joined Coleford Brass Band and was a keen and active member for many years. His love of and passion, especially for Military Brass Bands never left him and he has always enjoyed watching any military parades, grading them of course, on the quality of the band that was playing.

We, very recently had the great pleasure of celebrating with Aunty June and Uncle Viv in their Diamond Wedding Anniversary. It was a happy family occasion and a joy to meet so many of their friends.  For example, it was especially lovely to meet, for the first time, Uncle Viv’s gorgeous and very bubbly cousin Peggy with whom he spent many happy childhood years and always spoke so fondly of.

June and Viv have been a beacon to us all in highlighting what a happy marriage is, sharing 60 wonderful years together and rarely spending any time apart. When I speak of Uncle Viv, it is always in conjunction with Aunty June as they came in a pair, they were a double act. 

They met when Aunty June persuaded Uncle Viv to buy a raffle ticket – over the years he frequently complained that she cost him a shilling but always added, with a twinkle, that it was the best shilling he had ever spent.

With his sharp wit and huge sense of humour, we grew up hearing a very large number of mildly derogatory wife jokes.  However, he always concluded with “Ahh I’m only joking – the old girl’s the best thing that ever happened to me – honest she is”. He was completely devoted to her, however that’s not to say that he wasn’t aware of some of her foibles: Even just a week before his passing as he lay very ill, when I told him that Aunty June was nagging me, his quiet but quick retort back was, “Yes, she’s bloody good at that!”

During their marriage, they were fortunate to be able to travel very widely visiting many different parts of the world (they have a very large box of photographs to prove it) and they were usually accompanied by their life long best friends Tris and Maurice.  Indeed, Uncle Viv felt the recent passing of his best mate Maurice very keenly and spoke frequently right up to the end of how much he still missed him. 

As a married couple Uncle Viv and Aunty June especially enjoyed walking and gardening and they kept an allotment for some years. Uncle Viv knew his place though and always referred to himself as the ‘under gardener’ under the watchful eye of the one in charge! 

They also got actively involved in helping others. For many years they were part of the Willow Trust, taking people with disabilities on Canal Boat trips. Uncle Viv was also involved with a home library service and faithfully visited a blind friend Tom to read to him (and to share in the odd glass of whisky). He helped Aunty June on occasions with Meals on Wheels and he was always ready to support neighbours around them even if it was just to put out and take in their bins. Uncle Viv was well known and loved locally and the time he took on his daily walk to collect the newspapers varied immensely depending on how many people he met on the way to chat to and share a joke with.

Although they didn’t have children of their own, Aunty June and Uncle Viv were very close to Mandy (my sister) and I as we were growing up. We visited them regularly and always felt very loved and spoiled.  When we went for lunch however, we were often a little confused that dad and Uncle Viv always seemed to need to visit the doctors while lunch was cooking. It was some years before we discovered that the doctors, was in fact the pub! 

Uncle Viv was always a great teaser and practical joker and we loved to play wrestling games with him (although he always won – he had a very firm grip). He and Aunty June took us on many happy outings, and a favourite of my sister’s was boating in Cheltenham where he liked to try and scare us as we passed under the bridges – but of course it never worked! My sister remembered too of Uncle Viv telling us of how the birds kept pecking out his hair which was why he had none on top of his head.

In more recent years, they have faithfully and lovingly watched our own children grow into adulthood and have always been proud and doting relatives, ready to celebrate every achievement they have made along the way. Indeed, it has become a bit of a joke in our house that Aunty June and Uncle Viv took more interest and knew more about what was going on in their lives than I did.

In turn, my children have loved them both dearly and feel very blessed to have them in their lives.

 

And so, my Uncle Viv’s life was a life full to the brim of love and happiness.

It was a partnership with the love of his life and the memories of him that we all share will remain with us forever.       

Thank you