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TRIBUTE
TO PETER HABERSHON
Last
April, in Westminster Abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute
to The Queen Mother.
He described her three major qualities: strength, dignity and
laughter - qualities which could equally be applied to Peter whose life
we are here to remember today.
As
we reflect on, and pay tribute to, a life well-lived, let us look back
on what he did and recall how many lives he touched.
I hope all of you who knew him will find some strength and
comfort in the contemplation of a life, so remarkably full of character,
that we remember today.
Peter
had great strength, both physical and mental, fighting his final illness
with such courage, and always maintaining his wonderful sense of humour.
Born
in 1921, Peter came from Rotherham in Yorkshire where his family had
owned and managed a steel rolling mill for over 100 years. He had an
older sister, Joan, and an older brother, John. Both boys were educated
at Oundle School, reputedly a thoroughly harsh experience in those days,
but perhaps ideal training for the rigours of the impending war. At
Oundle, although his brother shone at gymnastics, Peter developed a
lifelong passion for competitive games, especially those involving a
moving ball. A tenacious cricketer and rugby scrum-half, he was also
talented on the fives court.
At
the age of 17 he realised that
life in the family steel business wasn’t for him and he joined
the Royal Navy straight from school in January 1939, undergoing training
at Dartmouth.
With the outbreak of war shortly afterwards, there was no time
for the broader education of the training cruiser and he was quickly
sent to the Navy’s engineering college in Plymouth.
It was during this time that he met his future wife Margaret,
while on fire patrol in the city during the Blitz.
Peter’s lasting impression of this period was the degree to
which everyone pulled together for the war effort.
Peter’s
first ship was HMS RAMILLIES, an elderly battleship on Atlantic patrol.
His accommodation beneath Y turret was constantly awash and he
attributed his partial deafness to the ear splitting noise of the 16”
guns firing directly above him.
With his training complete, Peter moved to the cruiser HMS
NEWCASTLE in 1943 and saw successful action in the Indian Ocean against
German U-boats following the breaking of the Enigma code and bombardment
of Japanese positions on the Burma coast in support of the allied
armies.
He spent interminable hours in the engine room, in intense heat
and noise – human conditions that are unthinkable in these days of
duty of care and health and safety legislation.
With prowling U-boats, the fear of being trapped in the confined
spaces below decks was constantly with him and between watches he was
frequently at his damage control post, sometimes going for days without
proper sleep.
So
the end of the war was a great relief and Peter married Margaret soon
afterwards.
Following the untimely death of his father and the
nationalisation of the steel industry, he resisted family pressure to
leave the navy and return to Rotherham, leaving his elder brother John
to run the family business.
Peter served in 4 more ships - with the resounding names of
ALACRITY, TUMULT, SHEFFIELD and ARMADA.
These appointments were interspersed with time ashore training
young engine room artificers and 2 spells in the ship design department
of the Admiralty in Bath.
With a keen competitive spirit, he played tennis and hockey in
his spare time.
At cricket he represented the Scottish Combined Services team
when stationed at Rosyth.
Then
the 1957 Defence White Paper led to a ruthless cut of the armed forces,
emphasising dependence on nuclear rather than conventional weapons.
Along with many of his naval contemporaries, Peter took early
retirement.
He
took a job in Frome, at Notts Industries, a well-established engineering
firm, where he and a small team pioneered the development and marketing
of slotted shop shelving, in the early days when self-service
supermarkets were expanding and superseding traditional shops.
At
last he was living a settled life and he and Margaret were able to
devote themselves to their children and the beautiful house and garden
they had acquired in Somerset.
They were happy years.
Essentially a family man, Peter held wide interests. He learnt
how to fish and derived much enjoyment casting for trout on the banks of
the Kennet and the Culm.
He was well read and a skilful solver of cryptic crosswords, his
favourite being Mephisto in the Sunday Times.
Ever competitive, he was always ready for a game of ,Scrabble,
Monopoly or cards with his children. At chess he was a natural. Despite
devoting little time to the study of the game he joined Frome Chess Club
and was soon a regular member of the Somerset county side, both in
postal and over-the-board chess.
He took up golf again at the Mendip Club with Margaret and played
to a single-figure handicap. Curiously he played golf right-handed
despite being a left-handed batsman.
Family holidays were always varied and special, spent in the
caravan, or narrowboat cruising on the English canals before it became
fashionable, or on the beaches of North Devon where he treasured
memories of his own family holidays as a boy before the war.
Tragically
Margaret died in 1987 and only 6 years later he lost his second wife,
also called Margaret.
But he never outwardly showed the sadness he must have felt,
choosing instead to busy himself with moving house and rekindling his
interest in bridge which he had learnt and played with his parents in
the 1930s and during those long wartime patrols in HMS NEWCASTLE.
Peter said his best decision was moving to Sherborne where he
spent the final five years of his life with immense happiness.
His diary was always full, with membership of the bridge clubs at
North Cadbury, Yeovil and Sherborne.
He could hardly believe how quickly he was surrounded by good
firm friends - and so many of you are here today.
You welcomed him to the town and helped him to settle quickly in
his new environment.
Peter was never happier than when in good company, holding a
handful of cards. When he played a card with his habitual phrase ‘key
play’, you knew that he was certain to make his contract. His final
bridge club appearance was as recently as September 9th at
Sherborne where, with his regular partner Fenton Rutter, he finished top
with a rarely achieved score of over 70%.
Together
they played a form of the Precision Club bidding system to good effect,
earning him the nickname of ‘Precision Pete’.
Peter
had a great interest in people and the stories they had to tell.
Above all, he was a man of unswerving values, perfect natural
manners and a wonderful dry sense of humour.
We
have lost a constant and humane man.
He was everyone’s idea of a contented and warm family person.
He was a source of generosity, cheerfulness and fun.
Whatever he did, he did well, with immense tact, good manners,
flair and attention to detail.
We will recall him, as I said at the beginning, for his strength,
his dignity and his laughter.
Peter
Habershon – fun to be with - dear friend, father and grandfather.
We will remember you.
The Church of St Mary Magdalene
Castleton
Sherborne
Dorset
14th November 2002
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