Peter Mallace-Goulbourne (15 Mar 1956 - 31 Jul 2021)

Beloved husband and father, classical musician, jazz original and composer whose talent shone bright to all who heard him play.

The words of William Wordsworth,

“... that best portion of a good man’s life,
His little, nameless, unremembered, acts
Of kindness and of love”

could not describe Peter better. He was the kindest and best of men.

Peter was born in Birmingham on 15th March 1956 to Frederick ‘Dick’ Goulbourne and Mary Goulbourne. He was a much-wanted younger son and brother to David.

He grew up in Upper Bentley near Redditch in Worcestershire. The freedom of a country childhood of bike riding round the village and roaming freely through the fields observing the seasonal changes and listening to the birds were vivid memories he often recalled, as was the fun and adventure of getting snowed in in winter and having, therefore, to miss school. It was, however, a childhood, also full of very dangerous adventures by today’s standards. He once made headlines in the local paper for setting a local field on fire, all in aid of providing the chickens with central heating!

From a young age he showed a great aptitude for the piano and, exceptionally for his background, went on to study piano and trumpet at The Royal College of Music in London.

In 1978 he met Karen Mallace when they were studying for their PGCEs. It was love at first sight and in 1980 they married, joined surnames to become the Mallace-Goulbournes and enjoyed 40 years of happiness in marriage that was celebrated on their Ruby Wedding Anniversary in 2020.

He has three children: Simon, Lucinda and Alicia. He was immensely proud of their individual career successes, but most of all he was delighted that they had all grown up to be lovely people who loved to spend their time with him and who holidayed with him each year. He was thrilled to welcome Zaichen into the family on Luci and Chen’s marriage in 2017, and was delighted to welcome Laura, Simon’s partner, into the family too. The centre of Peter’s universe was the happiness of his family.

A love of music was fundamental to Peter’s existence. He played both classical and jazz music on his piano every day. This was a gift that enhanced the lives of all who lived with him and heard him. It delighted him that in recent years he could accompany his daughter Alicia singing lieder and operatic arias. A highlight of playing for him was his performance at the Edinburgh International Festival in the 1980s where he received many complimentary comments from the judges and audience. He was also a composer, firstly as a music teacher within schools where he both created and arranged music for his students and then later, he composed beautiful wedding marches for Karen in 1980 and then for Luci and Chen in 2017.

Peter and Karen enjoyed walking together. Peter’s love of the natural world stayed with him all his life. He loved to birdwatch and could mimic the calls of a catalogue of birds, most notably the owl. He loved to hike and was never happier than when out with his family. He also enjoyed going to music concerts, the opera and jazz festivals. With Karen and the family, he visited so many cultural sites both at home and across Europe and the world. Summer holidays were spent caravanning in Italy, France and Spain. He relished the freedom these gave the family and the access to beautiful and ancient sites they afforded them. Most memorable were the visits to Venice and the holidays on Lake Garda which included attending the opera in the ancient Arena Di Verona on several occasions.

His passion for astronomy meant the moon landings and the recent exploration of space to Mars and beyond were of profound interest to him. He and his children enjoyed many a long night watching the planets and the stars from one of his telescopes.

Peter worked for 26 years as a civilian with the armed forces, in the Defence School of Communications and Information Systems. He delivered a range of courses to all ranks and levels from foundation degree to MSc. He worked for many years at Blandford Camp and, on retirement, had risen to the position of Department Lead and Senior Burnham Lecturer. His colleagues described him as a “gregarious, principled and honest person, who can be relied upon in any circumstances” and who “gives 100% in all he undertakes”. He enjoyed life with his colleagues, who relished his compassion, warmth and sense of humour. On his retirement in 2016 they gave him a resounding send off.

Peter brought joy to the lives of all who knew him through his humour, his gentle kindness, his dedication, and the beautiful music he both played and composed.