downsmail.co.uk Mik eWhitfield


MIKEWhitfield (8 0 ) had a distinguished ca - reer with Kent Police, serving a cross the county and a t the sta ff college, Bramshill, a s he wa s promoted to chief superintendent a t county headqua rters, Ma idstone. After


retirement


from the force, he took up ma na gement con- sulta ncy with a secu- rity company.


He became closely involved in the life of


Ma idstone, joining the Rota ryClub ofMa id- stone in 1 9 8 7 a nd serving a yea r a s presi- dent before la ter moving to the Ma idstone Riverside club. He served a s a governor of Maplesden


Noa kes School and wa s a keen member of Bea rsted Golf Club. Mike,whose ea rly lifewa s spent in North


Shields, and hiswifeChristine lived in Ba rm- ing and he is a lso survived by daughters Jane and Cla ire and three grandchildren.


Peter Sime


PETER Sime (7 8 ) lived in the Boughton Lane a rea for over 3 0 yea rs and lived loca lly a lmost a ll of his life. Born in Sevenoaks, hemoved to London


with hismother during thewa r a s she drove ambulances, but a fter his fa ther returned fromwa r service the familymoved loca lly, living in Ba rming and the London Road a rea . Peterwa sma rried to


Va l for 5 4 yea rs and the couple lived in Bea rsted before moving to the Boughton Lane a rea .


They had daughtersMandy and Becky. Va l sa id:“


Peterworked for Reed’s paper


mill formany yea rs beforemoving to Alaba ster Pa ssmore and sons in Tovil a s a print a ssistant.After tha t company folded Peter enjoyed his fina l fewyea rs ofworking life delivering vegetables for Kingslands. “


He liked going a round town and the people hemet in tha t job, and he fina lly


Joe Gibson


THE dea th of construction worker Joseph “


Joe”Gibson (3 3 ) prompted an outpouring


of sympa thy for the popula r youngman. Joe, fromLiverpool,wa sworking loca lly


a s a scaffolder,when he died in a motorcyle a ccident on theA2 4 9 . Joe’s fa therAlan


spoke of the love Joe felt for newgirlfriend Laura McBride and Joe’s happiness in his work in Kent.Miss McBride posted an emotiona l tribute, on Fa cebookwhich sa id: “


My hea rt could not


hurtmore right now.Hea rtbroken doesn’t come close.Howcan this even be rea l… [we]were ta lking about our plans for our future together, youwere even coming to Jama ica withme next yea r. “


Iwa s looking forwa rd tomeeting your


family nextweekend,wewere both so excited.We sa id forever but nowmy hea rt’s broken and I knowlifewon’t be the same ever aga in.”


Clau d Cou rtnell


CLAUDCourtnell (8 2 ) grewup in Mangravit and livingmost recently in Hereford Road, Shepway. He aendedMangravet Prima ry School


and Southborough School before sta rting work a s a lorry driver, driving for the construction groupWimpy and a lso for Tilbury Construction. Hewent on towork on building sites for


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There isn 36 Maidstone November 2018


retired a t the age of 7 0 . Peter rea lly loved his sport, he played rugby forAylesford Paper Mills a s a youngman and represented Ma idstone Rugby Club.At one point in the 6 0 ’s hewa s capta in of their fourth 1 5 and the club have put out an announcement about his dea th “


He a lso loved golf andwa s a long-time


member of Bea rstedGolf Club, playing up until the end of la st yea r. Peoplewill remember hima s a quietmanwho got on wellwith others.” Peter leaves hiswife, daughters and


grandchildren Eloise, Toby,Ha rry,Millie, Bella andMaddie.


his friend Berna rd Setchell, before going on to finish hisworking lifewith Sa feways Distribution inAylesford. Claudwa sma rried to Va l for 4 4 yea rs and


wa s fa ther to Ba rry, Lynda ,Ma rie, Floyd andDa le. Floyd sa id:“


wildfowler and a long-timemember of a wildfowling club.He a lso enjoyed sea fishing off the bea ch inHythe. “


My fa therwa s a keen He could be amusing but hewa s a very


priva teman, devoted to ourmother and happy to domost thingswith her. People will remember hima s a very honest and loya l personwith a number of close friends.” Claud,whowa swidowed, leaves his


children, 1 3 grandchildren and three grea t- grandchildren.


GrahamTodd GRAHAM“


Gray”


Ca rpenterTodd(7 1 ) lived


in Pa rk Wood with wife Ma rsha from 2 0 0 5 and before tha t in Cha ring. Born and brought up in Essex, a s a


teenagerGraywa s a drummer in a band. As the group


travelled fromEssex to London toworkwith legenda ry producer JoeMeek, a motorcycle a ccident cla imed the life of their singer. Despite record sa les


in Sweden and session workwith theDave Cla rk Five,Gray left


themusic industry towork in the copyright depa rtment a t the BritishMuseum,where he stayed for 2 0 yea rs. The second of his fourma rriages


produced children Jenny and Stewa rt. HiswifeMa rsha sa id:“


Graywa s a hugely


crea tive personwith lots of idea s.He loved his a llotment, photography andAmerican sports.Hewa s the first qua lifiedAmerican footba ll referee in England and officia ted a t ba seba ll games. “


hold himba ck.Heworked in a range of a rea s including importing and exporting. Music rema ined a pa ssion and his funera l includedmusic byWoodyGuthrie, Rocky Sha rpe and the Replays and Billy Bragg’s version of ‘The Red Flag.’” Gray leaves hiswife, children, step-


children Krissie, Paul and Emma and his grandchildren.


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He sufferedwith epilepsy but never let it


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