Donated by Melanie. For a gentleman who I wish I had known a lot longer, for Howard who made us laugh
donated £20 in memory of Howard
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Howard Davies Willson (26 Mar 1953 - 9 Feb 2023)
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Howard DaviesTransglobe Expedition Trust
£1,666.15 + Gift Aid of £312.50
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In loving memory of Howard Davies Willson who sadly passed away on 9th February 2023, aged 69 years.
A donation box will be available on the day after the service for donations in memory of Howard to The Transglobe Expedition Trust. It is a registered charity (No 1029586) and the registered address is Walnut Tree Farm, Benhall, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 1JB.
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Howard was born on 26th March 1953 in Chatham and grew up in The Isle of Grain. After leaving school at 16 he completed his Apprenticeship at Chatham Dockyard and qualified as an Engineer for The Royal Navy. He worked on both nuclear and diesel submarines. In 1974 he walked the length of the East Coast of Australia.
In 1976 he joined Shaw Saville and went to sea on passenger and cargo vessels and visited many parts of the world. In addition to seafaring, Howard also put his engineering skills to other uses such as crane erecting.
Howard joined Transglobe as a volunteer in August 1979 and helped his colleagues in the engine room as third engineer. His many duties also included making spare parts on the ship’s lathe and attending to the welding jobs on board. He was part of the crew from the beginning to the end of the Expedition in 1982. With Transglobe he spent much of his time demonstrating his skills at walking on water with the Expedition’s special water shoes (which were used in the Arctic for crossing open leads in the ice).
On his return home to Chatham he met Gill after being introduced by her good friend in the bank where she worked. They fell in love and married on 13th December 1986. They were soon to start a family when their first son Matt was born in 1989. Howard was a devoted father. They moved to Upchurch in 1991 and went on to have another son Sam in 1992.
Howard worked in the double- glazing Industry after leaving the Navy due to Ill health working his way up through the rungs of production finally ending up as an Accounts Manager.
Sadly, in March 2001 at the young age of 48 Howard was taken ill with throat Cancer and had a battle going through gruelling treatment. He beat the odds after being told he had just 6 weeks to live and survived . Howard loved life and lived it to the full despite his failing health. His many hobbies included reading, photography, cooking, gardening and keeping fit. He was then suddenly taken seriously ill again in 2012 ending up in intensive care and transferred to St Thomas's Hospital in London where he fought for his life and again against all odds he survived. He spent the next 6 months learning to walk and talk again finally coming home in time for Christmas.
He was very proud when his 2 sons finally left home to start up in their own homes with their girls Kiera and Abi during the pandemic. He reignited his passion for photography after taking over one of the now spare rooms and turning it into his photography studio and became well known around Upchurch for his fantastic photos which everyone could enjoy, sometimes getting up at 4am just to grab that special shot as the sun rose. He would spend hours sorting them into some kind of order. His other great passion was cooking having been trained in London by The Roux brothers and although he was unable to eat or drink for over 20 years, he continued to do all the family meals, every Christmas feast and would enjoy doing a BBQ for his close friends and family right up to the end of his life.
He was a very selfless man always helping people when he could and putting everyone else first touching the hearts of everyone he knew.
He endured a further challenging 11 years as his health was deteriorating, but had managed to join up with a gym and was determined to stay as strong and fit as possible for his family. He sadly lost his battle after being diagnosed with Sarcoma just after Christmas but just could not fight any longer and passed away on 9th February 2023.
He will be greatly missed by everyone that was fortunate to have him cross their paths and leave a great void in all our lives but will never be forgotten and his legacy will live on and shine through his boys he so loved. We have all learnt so much from his great knowledge and love of the world around us.
In his memory donations can be made to The Transglobe Expedition Trust :-
For Credit transfer. Account name is: Transglobe Expedition Trust
Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-31-52
Account Number: 00315842
donated £10 in memory of Howard
Donated by Phil & Eve Denyer. In memory of Howard
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donated £5 in memory of Howard
Donated by Julie. In loving memory of a great man Howard
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donated £10 in memory of Howard
Donated by Daphne Post. In loving memory of Howard
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donated in memory of Howard
Rest in peace, Howard. We all miss you.
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donated in memory of Howard
In loving memory of Howard Davies Wilson, "H", "Howey". He packed a lot of living in. xx
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donated £50 in memory of Howard
We miss you so much Dad, we will always remember your beaming smile! ❤️
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donated £40 in memory of Howard
Thanks for many wonderful memories Howard from Ed and George and the Stone family
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donated £50 in memory of Howard
Howard, our dearest friend.
Your wise words, wit and inspiration.
A truly beautiful gentleman.
We shall remember you always.
James joy and bradleigh
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donated £20 in memory of Howard
In memory of a lovely man who will be greatly missed.
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donated £20 in memory of Howard
Will miss you Howie my good friend. May you rest in peace.
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donated £61.15 in memory of Howard
We had some amazing times on the Benjy B, many happy memories of laughter and fun.
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wrote
Howard lives on in hearts and minds. Now at peace and organising the angels.
Our love and sympathy to Gill and the boys and their partners.
Bev and Dave xx
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is attending the funeral
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donated £20 in memory of Howard
Howard was such a gentleman and will be missed by many.I feel lucky to have him as a friend.
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wrote
Deepest sympathy to Gill and the boys Howard was a lovely man and a gentleman he will be sadly missed
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donated £20 in memory of Howard
With deepest sympathy at this difficult time to Gill and Matt and Sam.
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With deepest sympathy from the Burch family. Our thoughts are with you all at this very difficult time.
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is attending the funeral
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donated in memory of Howard
Deepest sympathy to Gill, Matt & Sam & the family.
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