Alan Newman (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Alan Newman

9:19am Thursday 8th September 2011 in Obituaries

Retired farm director Alan Newman, whose funeral was held yesterday in Marlborough, had lived his entire life in George Lane, Marlborough, moving just along the road from his family home when he got married.

His death on Monday last week came just three weeks after the death of his sister Ciss Butler who had lived in the former family home with her late husband Alec.

Mr Newman, 88, also lost his wife Iris in March this year.

He was born in George Lane and his father, William, was the town’s head postmaster.

Mr and Mrs Newman had a very active life, and they both enjoyed gardening and playing golf.

He was interested in all sports and as a young man played in goal for Marlborough Town FC with his long arms and legs earning the nick-name ‘spider’.

Today’s president of MTFC Denis Cripps said: “I remember him playing in goal for the town after the war.

“He was a good goalkeeper and I think he also played for Pewsey at some stage.”

In the early 1950s he went to work for Gale and Ainslie at Mildenhall as a secretary for the farm and its bee farm business in London Road in Marlborough.

On Mr Alex Gale’s death in 1969 he took over the management of the honey business until it closed in the 1980s.

He became a director of Gale and Ainslie in the early 1980s until his retirement in 1990.

John Gale, who nowadays runs the family farming business at Mildenhall, described Mr Newman as “a quiet and unassuming gentleman”.

He was a keen gardener and was best known for his sweet peas, chrysanthemums and begonias.

He won many national awards with his sweet peas and he used to put on a massed display of his flowers at Marlborough Gardening Association shows.

Mr Newman was also a flower show judge and would travel miles to shows to adjudicate.

He served in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War and visited Canada amongst many other countries.

Mr and Mrs Newman had not enjoyed good health over the last few years but never complained, said second cousin Rosie Cordell.

After losing his wife in March, Mr Newman was in and out of hospital regularly and he spent the last two weeks of his life in Brendoncare nursing home at Froxfield.

Mrs Cordell said: “We all feel much richer for knowing such a special man.”

The funeral for him took place yesterday at St Michael’s Church at Axford, where Mr Newman was buried with his wife.

Mr and Mrs Newman are survived by cousins.