downsmail.co.uk Des Page
DES Page (94), of The Priory area of East Farleigh, survived the ferocious and costly Arnhemba�les of 1944, and later returned toOosterbeek on a remarkablemission. Deswas anArmy glider pilotwho landed his plane loadedwith soldierswithminimal casualties at a time of very heavy losses. The 1stAirborneDivision then had tomake an eight-mile trek in the face of enemy fire to Oosterbeek. There hewas
Picture:Matt Alexander
involved in intense house-to-house
shooting. Bi�erly cold, he found in a house a lady’s short fur coat towear to replace his sodden jumper. The coatwas drenched when the troopswere ordered towithdraw andmake theirway across the River Rhine toNijmegen. Des brought the coat back to England to
be cleaned and 10 years later returned to the Dutch house,where he astounded JoDe- Wi�when he handed back the coat. Itwas the start of a long friendship. Des’swar-time experiences and views
frequently featured on television programmes and he a�endedmany military reunions, including the 70th Arnhemanniversary in 2014. After thewar he became a senior sales
personwith Sharps inMaidstone. Born and educated inMaidstone, he lived
in a bungalowin East Farleigh and is survived byMrs Fay Page. Failing eyesight and health restricted his busy and outgoing life in later years.
Robert Bray
ROBERT “Bob” Bray (78),who lived for the final 25 years of his life onUpper Fant Road, lived in theMaidstone area hiswhole life, working on farms and in local parkland. Bob grewup in Yalding and lived in
Barming from1965-1993.Heworked at Bell FarminNorth Street, Barming, for 28 years before beingmade up to farmforeman. After beingmade redundant hemoved to Upper Fant Road. He thenworked for Turfsoil inGreenwich Park,Danson Park andHall
Place.After
retirement hewas employed byMaidstone Borough Council,working in their parks and open spaces.
Bobwasmarried to
Margaret for 58 years andwas father to Sharon and Sue. Bob’s family said he
was a bubbly character who loved a laugh and joke, and enjoyed time with friends and family. He collectedmodel
buses, amassing a collection ofmore than 100, and enjoyedbus shows andmuseums. Bob leaves hiswife, daughters and
grandchildren Joe,Georgia, Ryan and Kieran.
JoyMcCrerie
JoyMcCrerie (85)was known for running the Royal British Legion Playgroup for many years.
Shewas brought up
inDi�on and lived in the Royal British Legion village, Aylesford for 60 years. Born Joy Sharp, she
trained as a nurse but followed a career in childcare. Shewasmarried for almost 60 years toNoel
andmother to Jan and Sue. Jan said: “My motherwas a very giving, caring and generous personwho hadmany life-long friends. She held a strong religious faith and formuch of her lifewas involvedwith the SalvationArmy, a�ending their church. “Shewas a regular a�ender for over 20
years at the over 60’s club run by the SalvationArmy. In her later years shewas in poor health, but continued going to the Sunday service at the SalvationArmy church until the last fewweeks of her life. She loved simple things like gardening and kni�ing.” Joy,whowaswidowed three years ago,
leaves her daughters, grandchildren Laura- Louise, Samantha, Thomas, Jason, Carly-Ann, Josh and Chris and great- grandchildrenAlfie, Poppy, Freddie and Gracie.
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28 Malling June 2018 ThomWalker
THE sudden death ofDownswood’s Thom Walker (19) has left family and friends devastated and prompted an outpouring of tributes. The teenager died after being found
unresponsive in his bedroom. The former student ofMaidstoneGrammar School had earned promotion to section leader as an army cadet atMGS andwas aiming for an career in theArmy before a peanut allergy forced himto abandon the ambition. Thomworked as an IT development
technician for Caseware International and was planning to travel toNepal to teach English to orphans. Head ofMGSMark Tomkins praised
Thomas a “natural leader…who in his time gave tremendous service and leadership to the school”. Thom’s other volunteering and
communitywork included helping out at a homeless shelter and at theHazli� Theatre. Thom’s parents, Sue andAdie, have
sharedmany stories chronicling Thom’s intelligence and dedication to others. His best friend, BeckieWillmo�,whowas
planning to travelwith him, said on Facebook: “No onewill ever compare to this humanwho is holdingme safewithin his arms and kissingme because he lovesme so much.”
Paul Bradshaw
FRIENDS paid tribute to teenager Paul Bradshaw(18), fromEastMalling,who died after falling fromthe Lunsford Lane bridge onto theM20 onApril 7. One online tribute fromhis close friend
CharlieDuffield included a selfie the pair took the day before his death. She added: “You always knewhowto put
a smile on our faces, you had a heart of gold…Youmeant theworld tome. There are somanymemories, that Iwill treasure forever. Don't ever forget that I love ya!”
AlanGulsen
MAIDSTONE’S AlanGulsen (20) died after falling into the RiverMedway onApril 13. Rescuerswere unable to revive him. Alanwas known to local skinheads, and
friends have spoken of his plans to forma punk and ska band. His death prompted calls for lighting and safetymeasures in the areawhere he died.
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29
Obituaries
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