The Parish Magazine September 2021

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16 The Parish Magazine - September 2021 Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to advertisements Complete Pest Solutions WASPS • RATS • MICE • SQUIRRELS BED BUGS • FLEAS • BIRDS & RODENT PROOFING Leslie Parker parkerleslie65@aol.com 0125 624 2135 0799 081 4143 PROFESSIONAL PEST CONTROLLERS REGISTER 2 Vyne Lodge Farm Cottage, Bramley, Tadley, Hampshire RG26 5EA Whatever you want to store... ...for whatever reason - house sale and purchase not coinciding, travelling, house building work, paperwork overload or even “de-cluttering” to sell your house more quickly - we offer a friendly and flexible local service. With competitive rates, secure storage and hassle free 24/7 access, contact us now! 0118 940 4163 www.barn-store.co.uk Only 5 minutes from Henley on the Reading road! www.etsheppard.co.uk 01491 574 644 36 Reading Road, Henley-on-Thames RG9 1AG Established in 1858 A.F. Jones Stonemasons Limited 0118 9573 537 www.afjones.co.uk 33 Bedford Road, Reading, RG1 7EX
feature — 2 The Parish Magazine - September 2021 17 Malcolm Stansfield's enthusiastic energy 'Malcolm Stansfield needs no introduction. All who knew him, knew the energy and enthusiasm with which he tackled every job he undertakes.' This was what readers of The Parish Magazine, April 1975, were told when he had been elected churchwarden, a post he was to hold continuously for 20 years. Today the tenure of churchwardens is 5 years. Malcolm was not only well known as a stalwart of St Andrew's Church, there was hardly a local club or organisation that he did not get involved with, either as an active member, supporter or as a guest speaker. His death on 19 June 2021 was received with sadness by many of our readers in Charvil, Sonning, Sonning Eye and beyond our parish boundaries. Our archive picture (above right) of Malcolm, with his first wife Mary, typifies the way he was always prepared to get stuck in when there was a job to do. To record his numerous achievements would take every page of this magazine, so below we offer just a few, edited, extracts from a eulogy given by his niece at his funeral service held in St Andrew's on Monday 19 July. Family meant a lot to him. His father, was a butcher in Barnoldswick, Lancashire. He went to a local church school and he and his brother helped on a local farm. When his family moved to a small 7 acre farm the brothers became the youngest farmers in Britain. Farming was to become his life, a life which took him around the world and involved him with royalty, governments and villagers alike. Malcolm left school to spend a year at High Mawthorpe Experimental Husbandry Farm, from where he went to Leeds University and gained a BSc in Agriculture. He was also student president of the agricultural society, a member of Kelbrook Young Farmers, and with his brother and a cousin, won a public speaking competition. Later in life, through Loddon Vale Rotary, he introduced such a public speaking contest into our local secondary schools. IMPRESSIVE MANAGEMENT Malcolm met Mary in 1957 at a summer ball in Grassington. He proposed in a Leeds pub and they married in December 1959 at Rylstone Church, Skiptop. Through a Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food scholarship, Malcolm studied for a postgraduate diploma in farm management at Reading University where they were so impressed they invited him to join the management team. His first job was on a beef cattle, pigs and cereal farm, but he soon became manager of the Sonning Farm dairy where he introduced his own method of high and low yielding groups of cows. His ideas led to a Churchill scholarship in 1967 and a four month tour of America to study large herd management. Later that year the university farms were amalgamated and Malcolm became deputy farms director. In 1996, Malcolm was appointed chief advisor to the Royal Agricultural Society of England, an appointment closely followed by becoming special advisor to the agricultural select committee of the House of Commons. He also wrote several books and videos about farming. When the Stansfield children attended Sonning Primary School, Malcolm joined the Parent Teachers Association and, with Mary, was involved with them for 30 years. He helped. build a wooden fort in the playing field, dig a pond and ran many school auctions, a talent he was soon using at many other fund raising events, such as the Sonning Produce Show. He became very involved with the Loddon Vale Rotary Club which he joined in 1974. By 1998 he was district governor. He helped organise many events such as an Argentinean BBQ with whole joints of meat on skewers, more auctions and galas, and what is now the annual Father Christmas sleigh. TRAVELLED THE WORLD As a St Andrew's churchwarden for over 20 years he used his management and fundraising skills to the full and the church became a pivotal part of his life. He preached annually on Rogation Sunday and carried his faith to the end of his life. In 2002 Malcolm organised the first village scarecrow event, which he had seen in Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales. The event was designed to raise funds for restoring the church roof and soon became a huge biannual attraction that has raised over £100,000 for local amenities. Malcolm and Mary travelled the world with various agricultural societies including Hungary, Australia, Denmark and New Zealand, giving talks and enjoying their hospitality. He meet several members of the Royal Family, received an MBE in 2003 from Her Majesty the Queen and was made a freeman of the City of London in 2008 when he wished that he owned a herd of sheep! Overseas, Malcolm was instrumental in sending 250 Friesian cows in 1971 to Delhi as part of a Christian Aid project to help improve cattle genetics, and he was involved in a project to fly a plane load of pigs to Bulgaria. Despite all this, Malcolm remained dedicated to serving St Andrew's Church and it is very appropriate that his final resting place is in our graveyard.
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Page 3 and 4: Serving the communities of Charvil,
Page 7 and 8: the parish noticeboard — 1 Notice
Page 11 and 12: the parish noticeboard — 3 On ref
Page 13 and 14: the parish noticeboard — 4 The Pe
Page 15: feature — 1 Hello Hannah! This mo
Page 19 and 20: feature — 3 A positive impact of
Page 21 and 22: feature — 4 An unforgettable Sept
Page 25 and 26: around the villages — 1 The Paris
Page 27 and 28: around the villages — 2 Hoorah fo
Page 31 and 32: HEALTH — 1 Dr Simon Ruffle writes
Page 33 and 34: the sciences Physicist and Priest:
Page 35 and 36: HOME & GARDEN — 2 In the Bible ga
Page 37 and 38: THE ARTS — 1 Dad! Dad! I would ye
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Page 41 and 42: CHILDREN'S PAGE The Parish Magazine
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