King of spin LESLIE ‘Les’ King (82), who played village cricket for 50 years, once claimed the scalp of an ex-England captain with his spin bowling. Les, of New- ington Walk, Vinters Park, was aged 68 in his last season for Teston - but he still topped the bowling averages. Born in Wateringbury, the youngest of nine children, he spent time as a butcher's boy in Penenden Heath before going on to work as a cricket ball maker for 44 years at Readers in Teston. It was while playing for the village team in 1956, in an an- nual fixture against club presi- dent Sir Albert Stern's XI, that he took the wicket of George (FG) Mann, who had skippered England on the successful 1948-49 tour of South Africa. But Les was good with the bat


as well as the ball, as his nephew Geoff King reminded mourners at Les's funeral. Teston were playing Bluebell Hill and needed six to win off the last ball of the game. Les obliged by pulling the ball over the mid-wicket boundary. Les had previously played for Hollingbourne and Mereworth as well as being a member of Mote Park Bowls Club.


We will remember In his younger days, Les was


noted for his dancing, which is how he met his future wife June at Chatham Town Hall. They married in 1957 and had twins, Suzanne and Joanne. Tragically, they lost Joanne to leukaemia in 1978 and June died three years later.


Rita Clews MAIDSTONE MP Helen Grant attended the funeral of Rita Clews (78), who had been in- volved with the local Conserva- tive Association’s Ladies’ Luncheon Club. Cornwall-born (nee Colling),


she trained in Plymouth and married David in 1955. She had started work as a district nurse by the time they moved to Worcestershire. She offered her services to the


West Kent Hos- pital during a flu outbreak, proving so able she was of- fered a staff nursing job in 1970. She went on to work as a district nurse in Larkfield, in the then pio- neering field of home palliative care for the terminally ill. She later worked at Reed’s paper mill in Aylesford and retired in


1985. Widower David said; “Rita was very active socially. She chaired the organising committee for the Kent Associ- ation for the Blind and was in- volved with Boxley Church. “The pioneering work in pal- liative care is typical of what she did best. She had a memo- rable life and career.” The couple lived in Downs


Road and, later, Raymer Road, in Penenden Heath. There had been two moves abroad to France in the late ‘60s and Los Angeles in the late ‘80s, with David’s aviation-rlated work. Rita leaves her widower, son Alec and two grandchildren.


Audrey White AUDREY White (88) lived in Upper Street, Leeds, from1983, with husband Jack after living in Ireland, Holland and Portu- gal as he moved round in his work for the electrical giant Philips. The couple met during the


war when Yorkshire-born Au- drey (nee Bell) was in the ATS. Audrey was mother to Patri-


cia ‘Trish’ and the couple’s move to the Maidstone area was prompted by the fact that Trish was living in West Far- leigh at the time. Trish went on towork for the UNin NewYork and around the world.


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Widower Jack said: “Audrey


joined in most things in Leeds village; her roles included membership of the Garden So- ciety and serving the Royal British Legion for years, in- cluding about 13 as secretary. She was liked by everyone; that has come out clearly in all the tributes. “We had a


wonderful 66 years of marriage and our fam- ily and friends joined us at the Tudor Park last year for a cele- bration of our 65th anniver- sary.”


Audrey leaves her widower, daughter, grandchildren Caro- line and Geoffrey and great- grandsonWilliam.


Jean Cox BEARSTED Golf Club lost its longest-standing lady member with the death of Mrs Jean Cox just before Christmas. She joined as an “artisan


member” in 1932 and was made an honorary member “in recognition of her sterling ef- forts in shaping Beasted club as it is today”. A talented golfer, she was ladies’ captain in 1960. The widow of a well-known local dentist, John Cox, her home for many years was in Faraday Road, Penenden Heath. More obituaries: page 30


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