A POIGNANT presentation in memory of a much-loved member of the Badsey Society was the highlight of the group’s AGM.
A total of 55 members attended the event which saw Maureen Spinks re-elected chairman, Valerie Magan re-elected secretary and Tony Wood re-elected as treasurer.
After the business part of the meeting, the annual Tony Jerram Award presentation was made in memory of the former chairman of the society who passed away in 2008.
Members decided the award should be made posthumously to Richard Phillips, who died suddenly in October at the age of 67.
Chairman Maureen Spinks said with Richard’s untimely death, The Badsey Society had suffered a ‘great loss’.
Honouring Mr Phillips posthumously to Richard, Mrs Spinks said had not been for him and for Tony Jerram, none of the members might be sitting there that evening.
“When Richard moved to the village in 2000, he very quickly set up the award-winning website, www.badsey.net, with access to all the parish records, census returns and old photographs,” she said.
“At the time, there were very few village history websites of this kind.
“Richard also persuaded Terry Sparrow, the author of “A Brief History of Badsey and Aldington”, to write a second edition, and Richard offered to do the design.
“Richard’s neighbour in Badsey, the late Tony Jerram, was aware that grants were available for such projects.
“On discovering that Worcestershire County Council would only give grants to a society and not to an individual, it was decided to form a society – and thus The Badsey Society was formed in 2002, with Tony as the first chairman and Richard as the first Secretary.
“Since then, the Society has gone from strength to strength. Richard was involved with the design of all four society publications, contributed greatly to the Enclosure Map project and was involved with the market gardening DVD.
“A humble man, he did not seek the limelight, but his death has left us deprived of the many projects he might have been involved with in the future,” she added.
