Ian Leslie Hammond (18 Feb 1961 - 19 Jun 2026)

Ian was born on the 18th February 1961 in Nottingham and was quickly followed by his younger brother, David. Growing up, Ian was a shy boy who didn’t much like the limelight. His mother, Mary, recalls how he was asked to recite a poem at school for a competition, and Ian had to work incredibly hard to build his confidence in performing. All his efforts clearly paid off as he came second place overall. When he was 11, Ian passed the entrance exam to attend Bluecoat, though his opinion of school never really changed. On one occasion, Mary found Ian on the doorstep at home during the school day - it turned out that he had had enough by breaktime and thought it was time to go home. Ian was promptly returned to school, and the Headmaster suggested they don’t speak of it again which they never did. Ian regularly attended Scouts with his dad, Les, and spent a lot of time outdoors learning handy skills. He enjoyed the camps and wasn’t afraid to get wet or muddy. He achieved the Chief Scout’s Award when he was 15 for his good effort and commitment to the organisation.

On a Friday night, Mary and Les would drop Ian off at a local farm where he would work for the weekend. Ian wasn’t paid for the work he did looking after the animals or crops as the labour went towards his bed and board - the word ‘bed’ should be used loosely though as Ian slept in a shed at night! He used to tell his parents about how he could hear the rats running around underneath him while he was trying to sleep! Mary and Les would collect Ian on a Sunday night, and he would be absolutely exhausted - Mary even recalls how he once fell asleep in the bath. Ian eventually gave up working on the farm as he was asked to do an early morning milking round, but the early mornings didn’t suit him, so that was the end of his farm life. Ian was a keen sportsman, achieving both a two-start and four-star award from the Amateur Athletics Association, and a School Colours Award from Bluecoat. Despite not enjoying school, Ian achieved good grades in his CSE examinations and went on to excel at Geography in his A-Levels. This prompted him to read Geography at the University of Salford where he achieved his BA.

In 1982, Ian was working at the Games Centre store in New Street, Birmingham where he was assistant manager. The shop was at the forefront of the new craze of Dungeons and Dragons and was a very cool place to work as a result. This is where he met Barbara and they became involved. In August 1983, Ian was transferred to the Bournemouth branch of Games Centre, which sadly closed down just a few months later. While working in Bournemouth, Ian started the process of applying for the Civil Service, which took a very, very long time and involved exams and interviews all over the country, including in Manchester and London. Virgin Games bought out Games Centre and Ian was head hunted to be the manager of a new branch in Leeds.

Ian’s Civil Service application carried on, albeit very slowly. So, having got onto the property ladder in Yorkshire, out of the blue, Ian got a letter inviting him to start work for the Ministry of Defence at Worthy Down in Hampshire. Apparently, as he started the application process in the South of England, that is where they thought he wanted to work. So, in August 1985 the bags and boxes were packed up again for the move to Winchester, where he managed to find a house in Stockbridge Road, Winchester. It needed a lot of work, but Ian, with a lot of help from his dad, Les, transformed the house into a cosy little place. Rover, the orange cat, joined the household and Ian’s career in IT as an Executive Officer in Worthy Down kicked off. Ian did well in his position and was promoted to the position of Higher Executive Officer after a couple of years in the job. At weekends, there were always visits from friends in London, Birmingham and Salisbury, so the house was very much a party centre. Ian had love of chocolate cake, often eating it for breakfast after a night out, though he always seemed to maintain his slim figure!

He bought a British racing green Triumph Spitfire car which he absolutely adored. It was old, noisy and unreliable. Still, he managed to get it started the day after the Great Storm of 1988 and it almost got him to work, thwarted only by fallen trees. His mum wasn’t so fond of that car though as when he parked on their steep drive, he always had to put bricks behind the wheels to stop it slipping backwards.

Ian enjoyed working backstage for a local amateur dramatics group called the Armstrong Players - he had always been very handy with building and electrics, yet Barbara recalls how Ian had a few close encounters with pyrotechnics. On one occasion, he was told off for not setting one off but was forgiven when he pointed out that one of the chorus members was almost standing on top of it. He wasn’t so lucky on another occasion when a flash bang went off rather close to him and caught his hand. After a few years, Ian and Barbara went their separate ways, and Ian found a little cottage in Wharf Hill, a very exclusive and picturesque corner of the city.

In 1989, Ian was the stage manager for the Armstrong Players when they put on their performance of Jack and the Beanstalk. It was during this show that Ian met Sarah, who lived in the local area, and they began seeing each other at the end of the performance run. They got engaged early 1990, and the following year, in April 1991, they got their first pet together. Jake was a lovely collie lab cross who settled in beautifully with Rover the cat. They got married on the 29th of June 1991 and went for their honeymoon in Cyprus which included a cruise down the Nile and a chance to see the treasures from Tutankhamen’s tomb. Ian enjoyed travel and, in this time, there were many holidays, particularly to Greece and the Balearic Islands. Ian loved the sun; he liked nothing more than getting his shirt off to enjoy the rays on his back which is evident from the tons of photos without him wearing a shirt.

In 1992, Ian and Sarah moved from Winchester to a house in Itchen Abbas which needed a lot of work. It did, however, have the added attraction of a third of an acre of land which meant Ian could indulge his love of gardening. He created fabulous, raised bed full of vegetables and a fruit area as well as a formal herb garden and rose garden. Ian was never happier than when he was in the garden growing things. He loved listening to music on his wireless earphones while he pottered about the garden. Ian had a particular love of sci-fi and was thrilled when they got one of the first surround-sound speaker systems so he could watch the Lord of the Rings with the sounds of the battle coming from all around.

In 1996 Abigail Mary was born, and Ian was a devoted father taking his turn with everything that needed doing: he was very hands-on. Abigail was followed shortly by Charlotte Marie, who took us all by surprise but was very welcome, nonetheless. Ian was extremely proud of his girls and never missed a school play, an assembly or a sports day. He loved doing outings with his girls whether it be Finkley down farm for Abigail’s first birthday or Leap Beach for Charlotte’s first birthday. He enjoyed being in the countryside and particularly loved going on bike rides with one or other of the girls behind him. He was so proud of his girls and would display their Fimo and bead creations on his desk at work.

Ian loved being out in the garden with his daughters encouraging them to see what was growing and to pick the fruits of his labours. He built the girls a Wendy house and an intricate playground involving slides, swings and scramble nets. Ian always wanted a small holding, and to this end one day he came home with a chicken arc and announced that he had sourced some hens which he was going to pick up the next day. This is how they became the proud owners of Tikka, Korma and Biryani. Ian loved calling his animals unusual names, hence Rover for the cat Jake the female dog and the aforementioned chickens. He always said he wanted to have a tortoise called Meat Pie.

Ian liked to be casual on a day-to-day basis, but he loved the opportunity to dress up, whether that be full DJ for Officer’s mess parties, or fancy dress. Examples of fancy dress included Ozzy Osbourne, Archbishop Macarius, and a T- bird. There was one memorable occasion when he sat in front of a promotion board on a really hot day and when asked if he would like to take off his jacket, he had to refuse because he hadn’t ironed the sleeves on the back of his shirt. He enjoyed the Officers’ Mess balls, but what he particularly enjoyed was taking his girls to worthy down the afternoon before the ball so that they could have free goes on different rides.

Ian and Sarah separated in 2007, selling the house in Itchen Abbas, and both moving to the village of South Wonston. Ian had a fabulous swing in the garden attached to a large tree which the girls adored. Being closer to Worthy Down than he was before, Ian splashed out on motorised bike which meant he could easily ride to and from work without the need to run his car. He didn’t quite consider the erratic British weather though and was often unprepared for torrential downfalls as he rode back up the hill after work!

Sadly, Ian became unwell in August 2010 after suffering a brain aneurysm. He was cared for in Winchester Hospital initially and against all odds, survived the devastating injury. He was moved to the Royal Mineral Hospital in Bath for specialist care. Barbara recalls how the Bath Rugby team visited the patients and that Ian’s face was covered in chocolate cake and frosting when she arrived - he clearly didn’t lose his love of chocolate cake!

After about a year of regular travel between Nottingham, Winchester and Bath, Mary and Les made the decision to move Ian to Pathfinders in Ollerton, to make it easier to visit him and manage his care. The move didn’t stop him getting out and about though - Ian went to Abigail’s teacher training graduation at Nottingham Trent in 2018 and made the 3.5 hour journey to Winchester for her wedding to Oliver the following year. He enjoyed visits to Tesco with his mum and daughters and was delighted to be involved in the marriage blessing to celebrate Charlotte’s wedding to Matthew in 2025. Everybody will tell you that Ian was a lovely, gentle man and a great friend who was fun to be with. This didn’t change after his injury - his sense of humour was still there and if you didn’t see him roll his eyes when somebody mentioned Strictly Come Dancing or bra shopping in Tesco, then you were in the minority. Sadly, after battling many chest infections, Ian passed away peacefully on the 19th June after being affectionately cared for by the staff at Pathfinders. Ian was loved by everybody who met him, and his cheeky smile and profound impact on those around him will be greatly missed. If Ian could tell you to do anything with your life, it would be to have that second slice of chocolate cake, and maybe even a third.