Peter Bowler: An Appreciation

David Bratt, President

This article is from Signpost 62, Spring 2020

Peter Bowler died on 31 Dec 2019 aged 86. Like wife Hilda, he was a long serving and valued volunteer at Taylor House HQ regularly on Monday mornings. Keith Wykes and I represented the Society at the funeral in the lovely and cosy Gawsworth Methodist Chapel on 23 January 2020.

Peter’s expertise and career was in Electrical Engineering via Imperial College,London and service in the REME. His role at Taylor House was as postmaster general responsible for receiving, logging and directing onward the copious volume of mail coming in weekly. If time permitted he was also happy to assist the assessors in considering proposed diversions, etc.

He was also along with Hilda an inspector and both were a great support to me when I became chairman in leading walks for our newly-fledged bespoke PNFS programme. Initially walk attendees were so few in number that to bulk them we devised the “total legs divided by 2” scheme - and dogs were very welcome!

Outside of PNFS Peter was long active in the Cheshire Tally Ho Hare and Hounds running club and he was an acknowledged specialist in growing, showing and judging orchids in competitions.

Ewan MacColl's moving poem, Joy of Living, was read at the funeral beginning and ending with the lines: “Farewell ye northern hills, ye mountains all goodbye Moorlands and stony ridges, crags and peaks ,goodbye I’ll be riding the gentle breeze as it blows through your hair Reminding you how we shared in the joy of living”

We gave on the day the Society’s and our own personal commiserations to Hilda and family in memory of Peter - a good man and truly a man for all seasons.

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