I have to say a few words about my youngest brother Roger. He was born when Mum and Dad thought that they had their family more or less complete. David was seven years old and I was ten when he was born. Mum was 35 when she had him. I’ve already described my feelings when he was born in my story and so I won’t repeat myself. There are just some things that I have not gone into that I feel must be related because it was his inspiration that made me carry on writing my story. When he left school, he took an apprenticeship at Lee Beesley’s training to be an electrician but it did not suit him so he moved on into the grocery trade, working at first in Owen Owen’s (now Alder's) food department then taking a job as assistant manager at Fine Fare supermarket in Westhill Road. He was there for a number of years becoming a popular member of staff. By the time the shop closed down, he was engaged to Rosemary, his first wife, who came from Lillington nr. Leamington. He then got a job at Lockheed which became Automotive Products and was situated in Leamington Spa on the Sydenham estate. 

     He married Rosemary in June 1970 at St. Margaret’s church in Leamington. My Mum crocheted Rose’s wedding dress and three bridesmaids dresses and the reception was held at my brother David’s house when he lived in Marton. They bought a house on the Sydenham estate and moved in January 1971. They had a baby girl, Sarah Louise, on May 10th 1973. Unfortunately this marriage didn’t last and they divorced in 1977. At the time, Mum was living in a mobile home in Princethorpe, the house at Evenlode Crescent having become too big for her and her need to live closer to my brother David who had been involved in a serious accident the previous year. Roger moved in with Mum after the divorce and left Automotive Products to become a sales representative. A career that he still had at the time of his death. 

     After his divorce, he moved in with my Mother and for the next couple of years he used to come over once or twice a week to take Bob and myself out. He had a light blue Austin car that he christened “Katie”. Sometimes we would go out on Monday nights to the Avenue public house in Leamington , where Roger was in the darts team and at the weekend, he would usually take us out into the country to different places in Warwickshire. One night he took us to a re-enactment of a Civil war battle performed by the Sealed Knot Society. It was nearly always somewhere different and interesting. At other times, we would do the Spon End run! He always made our nights out interesting and fun. 

     In late 1978, Mum wasn’t very well. She would sit down, and fall asleep while she was talking to you. We thought it was because she was getting on in years and rather overweight. Nothing to really worry about. 

However, on the night of February 1st 1979, Sue Wilde , The young girl who lived next door to us, came to tell us that Roger was on the telephone. We didn’t have a phone of our own at the time but Fred, her father, kindly let us use his in emergencies. I went to take the call and Roger said that he was on his way over. Our Mother had passed away in her sleep. He came about half an hour later. He’d been to the Avenue to play his usual game of darts that night. When he left Mum, she was tired, but O.K. She told him that she’d have an early night. When he got back at 11.30 P.M., he looked in to see how she was and turn the light off. She was gone. 

     I went over to Princethorpe the next day to help arrange things for the funeral and to sort her things out. It was a very sad time. He had arranged a holiday for her in the following June on the Norfolk Broads. They were going to take my girls, and Sarah. After the funeral, he asked me to take her place as he didn’t want to cancel the holiday. It all turned out very well really, because Bob was working in London at the time, in Silvertown and his boss’s son was going there the same week that we were going to be away, so they decided to take our son Bill and Larry escorted him down to London. He enjoyed himself and we had a wonderful time. He drove us to Stalham in Katie, with Blondie and Abba blasting out from the tape recorder in the car. He was particularly fond of both groups at the time. Fortunately, so were we! We had a wonderful holiday on a houseboat on Stalham Broad. Roger hired a motor launch to take us out on alternate days to different parts of the Broads and we would go to different places in Katie on the other days. Unfortunately on the last Friday that we were there, we were travelling along the Yarmouth to Caister Rd on a straight bit and a mini that was stationary just pulled out blindly from the near side. It caught Katie on both doors. Luckily no one was injured as Roger, anticipating what was about to happen, slowed right down and although the children were shaken up, apart from the car, no damage was done. After we got back home, Katie was sent to the scrap-yard. Roger was most upset. I don’t think he ever loved a car as much as he did that one! After that, he got another car (I can’t remember what it was) and we still went out with him every weekend. Susan, from next door was usually out in her Dad’s front garden, weeding the border when he came and he started to fancy her like mad! About a month later, he asked me to invite her out with us for the evening. She accepted straight away. ( Unbeknown to us, Roger’s feelings were reciprocated!) It was the most successful bit of matchmaking I’ve ever done in my life. Within a year, they became engaged and married and Louise was born in January 1981! 

         Roger & Sue January 2000 taken at the

           Plough inn, Bedworth at David's 60th party

The strange follow up to this event happened a couple of months before they met. I sat on Sue’s stairs one day talking to her. She was telling me that she’d had her fortune told that week. The lady in question told her, among other things, that she would get married very soon and that she would have two and a half daughters! Well! we thought! Just how is this event supposed to take place? The answer came a couple of years afterwards. Louise came along, followed by Rachel on November 1982 and of course Roger already had Sarah who became Sue’s stepdaughter (that was the half!). As an added bonus and to make the family complete, Simon was born in May 1989! 

    After Roger was married, of course I didn’t see quite as much of him as I had done before, but we still remained close even so. He lived at Marton and subsequently moved to Frankton and we all had our lives to lead but we were always at the end of the telephone if one needed the other. 

     It was a terrible shock in November 1999 to be told that he had inoperable secondary cancer of the liver. We found that the primary was in the pancreas. He fought it well and never lost his sense of fun even to the end. He was home for Christmas and New Year and they had a wonderful party in the village on Millennium night that he enjoyed to the full. Two weeks later, on the 15th January 2000, our eldest brother Dave held his 60th birthday party at the Plough inn at Bedworth. Roger came with his family and stayed for a couple of hours. However, he looked very tired and frail. It was the last big occasion that he attended because his condition deteriorated and he was taken to Walsgrave oncology unit the following week. Sadly, he passed away on 13th February 2000

     The people in the picture from right to left are Sue Batchelor (Roger's wife) ,their daughter's Rachel & Louise and finally Pam, Sue's sister.