I’m so sorry that I won’t be able to make the funeral to say goodbye to my Uncle Thomas in person. I’m deeply saddened by his passing, but I wanted to share a few memories of him that I will always hold very close to my heart.
From when I was young, I remember Uncle Thomas coming to see us every Thursday & Saturday night for a cup of tea and a catch up with my late nanna Ivy and my late mother Susan, before heading along to the Dinnington Social club to enjoy a few pints of beer. To which in years later I was serving to him.
I would be waiting at the window, watching for him getting off the bus or looking out for him coming down the drive.
If it was a nice day, Uncle Thomas would walk through the fields to our house. It’s such a simple memory, but one that has stayed with me all these years. I can still picture him coming.
As I got a little older, Uncle Thomas got me interested in collecting stamps. On Both Thursday & Saturdays, we would sit together going through envelopes of stamps that he had collected been given or bought. We would carefully take them from the old envelopes sometime having to soak in warm water first, let them dry and Prit stick them into a scrapbook.
Uncle Thomas made me a huge scrapbook with all different coloured pages and wrote the names of all the different countries at the top of the pages. We would sit there for hours together, finding the right country for every stamp and putting each one in its place.
They might seem like small things, but they are very special memories to me now. It was just nice being with him, spending that time together.
I also always remember Uncle Thomas with his camera. He loved taking photographs, whether he was outdoors walking through the fields or at my mam’s taking pictures of me, my mam and my nana. He captured so many moments, and now those photographs and memories mean more than ever.
I have so many fond memories of my Uncle Thomas, and I’m incredibly sad that he has passed away. I wish I could be there
Beverley Darley
12/08/2026
