Alfred had lived locally for 40


years, working with WH Smith first in London, moving to Bristol and finally becoming area man- ager for Kent. His niece, Marian Honey, de- scribed her uncle as “a wonderful man.”


Fred Gardner FREDERICK “Fred” Gardner (87) lived most of his life locally. He spent the last 20 years in Alling- ton having pre- viously lived more than 20 years in East Malling. Born in New


Hythe Lane, in one of the cot- tages


that


stands on the site of the current Waitrose car park, Fred was evacuated during the war, and was later called up for Navy service. Daphne, his wife of 66 years,


said: “Fred’s skills with electron- ics meant he spent a lot of time training on new equipment and we counted ourselves lucky that this and serving on ships well away from the fighting kept him safe.


“Whenhe retired, he was asked


if he could cut toenails for elderly and disabled people and he and a friend started a voluntary footcare


We will remember


service. When it started they charged 50p and as the service grew I helped them run it.” Fred and Daphne met at a friend’s wedding, and after the war they settled locally. Fred worked as a nurse at Leybourne Grange, rising to become unit of- ficer. He was father to Sally and Andrew. Daphne added: “Fred loved fishing, played badminton and tennis and enjoyed photography. He also played bowls.” Fred leaves his wife, children


and grandchildren David and Mark.


Rene Davies IRENE Evelyn Mary “Rene” Davies (90) made headlines last year when she and husband Irwyn “John” celebrated 70 years of marriage. Born in Loose, she briefly lived in Capel Bangor, Wales, near her husband’s birthplace until the cou- ple returned to live locally 62 years ago. They


lived in Mangravet, Shepway and SenacreWood. Rene was mother to Jennifer


and Marilyn. Jennifer said: “My mother worked for Alabaster Passmore when she was young and once my sister and I were at school she went back to work in the kitchens at Oldborough Manor School. People knew her as a homemaker who loved gar- dening, and took a pride in keep- ing her home clean.” Rene leaves her husband, her daughters, grandchildrenNichola and Darren and great-grandchil- drenMatthew, Daniel and Fraser.


Megan Coupland MEGAN Coupland (93), who has died in Andover, lived much of her life in the Maidstone area. Born inAshford, she grewupin


that area and began work for East and Loude, a local firm. She met her husband of over 60 years, Richard, a police officer, in Ash- ford and they settled in Loose. They subsequently moved to Pe- nenden Heath and – after Richard’s death – Megan moved to Mulberry Court, Vinters Park and subsequently to Andover. Megan raised sons David and


Tortoise Humphrey loses a stone


HUMPHREY, a one-year-old Indian Star tortoise,weighing just 3oz,has lost a stone, thanks to a team of vets fromMaidstone. Themajor operation involvedsaw-


ing his shell open and removing a bladder stone, whichwasoccupying nearly a fifth of his body. Staff at the Trinity Vet Centre,


where he was admitted in January, are amazed by how well Humphrey is doing – especially as he is likely to be one of the smallest tortoises ever to have undergone such a pro-


Humphrey the tortoise, and the bladder stone that was removed in an operation


cedure. His owners, who live in Croydon, brought him to the Exotic Animal Referral Centre at Trinity Vets, be- cause he was starting to appear unwell, and an X-ray revealed the huge bladder stone. Vet Mark Rowland cut a hole in


his shell to remove the stone. The piece of shell was then replaced and held in position with epoxy putty. Since the operation, Humphrey has been feeling much better and is returning to normal.


Proposal has had its chips


HUNGRY revellers spilling out of late-night clubswon’t be able to have chips for breakfast, Maidstone Council has decreed. An application from the Bri- tannic Fish Bar in Gabriel’s Hill to stay open until 5am on Sat- urday and Sunday mornings was thrown out by the town’s li- censing sub committee, after ob- jections from the police. The fish bar has been run by Bayram Ali Kanik for the past seven years and is already open until 4am, but, with the nearby Road House closing at 4am, Mr Kanik believed there was a need for the extra hour’s service. However, the sub-committee


heard evidence from the police of drunk and disorderly con- duct at the fish bar. These included one in March


last year, when a drunken cus- tomer was swearing at staff and then punched a window. There


was another incident in May when a drunkenman refused to leave and, finally, in September 2012, when men were fighting inside the premises. While the policewere dealing


with the incident, staff contin- ued to serve customers and made no attempt to resolve the disorder. All the incidents oc- curred after 4am, when the shop should have been closed, members heard. The policewere opposed to the application because of the fur- ther risk of crime and disorder. PC Neil Barnes said the police wanted people leaving night- clubs to disperse as quickly as possible, not to “hang around” in the town centre. “This concentration of peo-


ple, predominantly not sober, will lead to cases of crime and disorder and public safety is- sues, so it is better to disperse


them as quickly as possible,” he said. The premises were in a prime


spot – opposite a nightclub and on an exit route from the town – but this was part of the prob- lem, he said. Although police were posted


in Gabriel’s Hill, they were often caught upwith arrests and therefore could not be there all the time. He pointed out that the prem-


ises had already received awrit- ten warning for continuing to serve after 4am and breaching a condition of their current li- cence.


Although the fish bar had


CCTV and a radio alarm system, there had been problems ob- taining footage, members heard. They refused the application on the grounds of public safety and for the prevention of crime and disorder.


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Robin and returned to work as a typist for Leonard Gould & Co, packaging and cabinet makers in Loose. She became company sec- retary and a director, finally retir- ing from work aged 70. Throughout her working and re- tired life, Megan and Richard travelled extensively and enjoyed golf and bowls in Bearsted. Son David – a squadron leader


in the RAF – died in an air acci- dent in 1981. Robin Coupland said: “My mother was well-spoken, punc- tual, smart and impeccably dressed. She played bowls and golf in Bearsted. She stayed inde- pendent and involved in life and moved to be near my family in Andover four and a half years ago.”


Megan leavesRobin, grandchil-


dren Michael and Daniel and great-grandchildren Jamie, Britt, Anna, Freya and Alexandra.


Sister Kathleen


Dalton THEdeathwas announced ofSis- ter Kathleen Dalton, of Mandev- ille Court, Maidstone, and was formerly resident at Fintonagh Convent and Sacred Heart Con- vent in Boxley Road. She was well known locally from many years of teaching at St Francis' In- fant School.


House planned RINIKAS Ltd has applied to build a three-bedroom house be- hind the post office in Ringle- stone. A supporting statement said:


“This application is a scaled down version of earlier schemes, which have been refused plan- ning consents. “The site is located in the rear garden at 79-81 Chatham Road. The current use is a private resi- dential garden previously for use of the post office. However, it no longer forms part of the Post Of- fice site.” The application, which will be determined by Maidstone Council, says two apple trees and some shrubs would be removed and replaced.


Cannabis charge AMAIDSTONE man must carry out unpaid work after pleading guilty to possessing cannabis with intent to supply. Jason Robert John Jones, 36, of Upper Road, was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months and pay £100 costs.


Town funding offer IDEAS and suggestions are being sought for projects which could help improve Maidstone’s High Street ward – or benefit its peo- ple.


The Community First High


Street panel has more than £9,000 to award to community projects in the ward and is now accepting applications. Contact Julia Fraser at Maid-


stoneCouncil on01622 602513 or JuliaFraser@maidstone.gov.uk


Town 31


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