It is with regret that I advise of the passing yesterday of the above gentleman at a hospice near Tunbridge Wells. A stalwart of the local narrow gauge gatherings and a member of Uckfield club. Laurie was a fine modeller with skills beyond most of us, able to inject engineering methods into small scale modelling with wit and charm, something which few are able to do. It's this gentle self-deprecating wit that will be missed the most.
A great loss - I have known Laurie for many years, and his modelling has always been inspirational.
ReplyDeleteMiles
I find the news upsetting as back in the day when I went to school with Nick, his son, I got to know Laurie quite well, and he was indeed a great character, and somewhat eccentric, and that's what made him a really nice person to know. Of course, I knew the whole family, and used to be round there quite a bit, we'd go to the Brighton Centre exhibitions, and also to Bentley and run his live steam engine round the circuits there. The last time I saw Laurie was in Crowborough with his wife a few years back, and he was in good spirits, telling me they were hoping to go across Canada by train again, as they'd done it a few years back: I hope they got to do it.
ReplyDeleteRIP to a fine gentleman.
Matt
Laurie and Tuppenny Handley:
ReplyDeleteHaving hatched the crazy idea for an 009 model railway running around a 2p piece, I then realised my talent at track-laying would be totally inadequate. So I challenged Laurie to make the up the outer rail (around the 2p piece) for Tuppenny Handley. He, of course, accepted (after much ‘huffing & puffing’) and achieved it beautifully. The model still performs perfectly. So, for me, TH will now always be a memorial to his skill and humour and I will be thinking of him each time it operates.
Phil Savage, Sussex Downs Group 009 Soc.
A sad, sad loss to the world. As a child, I lived four doors from Laurie and his family, and he inspired me to model n.g. (anyone else recall his "Dryad's Falls" layout c1967?) as well as imparting a love of absurd humour, and entertaining us with homemade animated films. Oh, and he managed to crash his car through the front wall of our house; the bonnet arrived suddenly next to my father as we ate dinner! He continue to inspire as I grew up. Laurie was a true artist, who happened to choose model-making as one medium. Kevin, lapsed 009 society member.
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