Ventnor, Esplanade: Sam Anderson

The bench on this nice spot in the town of Ventnor is dedicated to Mr.Sam Anderson.

He was the husband of the former Isle of Wight councillor Val Anderson.

Sam Anderson was born in 1943 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1965 he moved to London where he had a few different jobs. For some time he was a security guard for the New Zealand embassy in London.

He met Val, who worked in the City in 1965 and they married in 1967.

                                                      Mr.Sam Anderson

That same year they moved to Newport, Isle of Wight. In 1970 they moved to East Cowes and in 1998 to Ventnor, where they stayed the rest of his life.

He worked for several  companies on the island as a health and safety officer. After this he worked a few years for the Isle of Wight County Council to end his working life in Romahome.

Mr.Anderson was quite sporty: he was a scuba diver, a cyclist, a swimmer, he walked a lot and even completed three IW Triathlons. He was an enthusiastic DIY, which can be seen in the houses he lived in.

In the period his wife was in the IW Council he was a great support for her, proving he could get along with everybody. From royalty to people of all walks of life.

Mr.Sam Anderson leaves behind his wife, two sons, a grand-daughter and many more family and friends who will miss him dearly.

View from the bench

Ventnor, Seawall between Wheelers Bay and Bonchurch, Stella Margaret Williamson

On the Seawall between Wheelers Bay and Bonchurch you can have a wonderful walk. On the seawall there are a few benches, only two with a plaque. The bench dedicated to Mrs.Stella Margaret Williamson is at a lovely spot. From here you have a magnificent view on the sea.

Stella Margaret Williamson was born in 1912 from William Healing, a violinist at His Majesty's Theatre and his wife Maggie. She had two sisters and one brother.

                            Mrs Williamson worked some time in a bookstall similar to this one

After leaving school she worked in the family shop and at a Whitehall Court bookstall in London.  It was here that she met George Bernard Shaw and Cole Porter. She is mentioned in the biography Michael Holroyd wrote about Shaw.

After she moved to the Isle of Wight she married Edward Howe, who was a patient in the Royal National Hospital in Ventnor. Until he died she managed several businesses. She had a shop for patients and was a host at the Conservative Club in Ventnor. After the war she ran a guest house in Ventnor.

In 1948 she married Patrick Evans, who was a producer for Dutch National Radio. She moved with him to Hilversum. The marriage did not last long and she returned to Ventnor. She married a third time: now to Bill Williamson, who was a civil engineer. He was a builder of nuclear bunkers. The couple moved around the country, but in 1985 they returned to Ventnor.

Mrs.Williamson was a keen gardener but was also very active in singing and acting. She was a member of a couple of choirs on the Isle of Wight and drama groups.  She also started a pottery in Ventnor.

In earlier life she was one of the pioneers of  Meals on Wheels and was interviewed about that on the BBC Today program in 1977.

She leaves her husband behind, four children, many grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.

A better spot for a possible bench dedicated to her is hard to find.

                                          View from the bench

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Steyne Road, bench at busstop

This bench has been dedicated to the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.
The Queen was born in 1926 and is since 6 February 1952 Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New-Zealand. That day her father, King George Vl died.

                                          2 June 1953, coronation of Elizabeth II.

The jubilee was celebrated in a big orchestrated celebration in London.
Top of the show was of course the balcony scene, where you can see the Royal family.

                                          Diamond Jubilee

By now Queen Elizabeth is one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world; only King Bhumibol of Thailand has been on the throne for a longer period.

                                          King Bhumibol of Thailand

It doesn't look like she will step down voluntarily. To me it looks like it's impossible that Prince Charles would be the next King. Getting divorced and getting remarried to a divorced woman was always a guarantee that you could never be King in the United Kingdom. So quite obvious Prince William will be the next King. King William IV, if I'm not mistaken.
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Steyne Road, bench at the busstop

Mrs.Enid Mary Sainsbury, nee Watson died aged 96 in 2007. This bench was presented to the community in 2001.

Mrs.Sainsbury was born in 1910 as a child of Frank and Annie Watson. Frank and his brother Sidney were founders of the Watson Estate Agency, what later became Watson, Bull and Porter and later Watson Grocery Stores and Post Office. Nowadays it is Lily's Cafe and Shop.

Lily's Cafe and Shop

Enid Mary Watson was a gifted violin player. She won many prices at the IW Musical Competition.
She played on many occasions.
In 1934 she married minister Kenneth Sainsbury. The couple lived for 24 years in Colchester, Essex.
They got three children. Mrs.Sainsbury was a very active minister's wife and was a member of the church choir.

After Kenneth Sainsbury retired, the couple returned to Seaview. Mrs.Sainsbury played in the IW Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1995, when she had to give up playing the violin.

                                          Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra

Shortly after that the couple went back to Colchester, to be nearer the children and grandchildren.
Mr.Sainsbury died there in 2004.

Mrs.Sainsbury supported lots of good causes, like the IW Donkey Sanctuary and the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
She died in 2007, leaving behind three children, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Bench near the pier of Bembridge, David John Cooper

David John Cooper died in 2015 at the age of 76 in St.Mary's Hospital in Newport.
He was a very much loved husband, father and grandfather.
In his working days he was a clerk in the Parishes of Theddlethorpe, Saltfeeltby, Skidbrooke, South Somercotes and Elkington.

The bench has a nice view on the pier of Bembridge and is offering a sight on the lifeboat if it's sailing out from the pier.

Seaview, High Street, Family Hersey

Alan Hersey was born in 1931 and died in 1999. 

To honour this former renowned County Councillor an area of great beauty has been named Alan Hersey Nature Reserve; it is in Nettlestone and Seaview and famous for being an extensive bird hide. It's a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

                                          View on the Alan Hersey Nature Reserve

Mrs.Robyn Hersey died in Wootton, in a nursing home, aged 70 in 2010.

She was born in Colchester, Essex and moved to the Isle of Wight in 1949 when her father became head herdsman in Mottistone.

She went to school in Ryde and to college in Portsmouth.

                                                      Mrs.Robyn Hersey

Mrs.Hersey had a passion for athletics and made it to being the champion hurdles for Hampshire County.

After her active years in sports she went coaching athletics, starting with her own children.

Later she became a PE teacher at Bembridge School.

She retired when the Bembridge School and Ryde School were combined.

Alan Hersey and Robyn married in 1956 in St.Peter's Church in Seaview. 

She was a member of the Seaview Regatta Committee and ran the regatta-tug-of-war competition. The winner got the Hersey Shield, named after her husband.

                                          Seaview Regatta in 1985

When Mrs.Hersey died she left four children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild behind.

This plaque was - as I presume -  placed on the same bench to honour the grandparents of Alan Hersey, the County Councillor. He must have been fond of his grandparents.

                                         View from the bench. It is the old spot from where the regatta was started.

Seaview, High Street, Des Saunders

This bench on the High Street of lovely Seaview is dedicated to Desmond Saunders, who clearly was loved very much by his family.
Mr.Saunders was born in 1934 in Birmingham and died in 2008 after a long illness.

He started his working life as a trainee in administrative work for the Birmingham City Council.
In 1964 he was appointed as housing improvement officer for Oxford City Council. He went for the job interview during his honeymoon, just being married to his love Diane.

Four years later he made a big step in his career, becoming senior health department officer in Winchester for Hampshire County Council and two years after that he went to Leicester to get a similar position.
One year later, in 1971, he and his wife moved to the Isle of Wight. He became the deputy director of social services for the island. A job he kept till his retirement in 1990.

He was a member of the Nettlestone and Seaview Parish Council for four years, of which he was the chairman for three of these.
He was not a person for doing nothing, so he had a very active life. He was a keen golfer and not surprising became the chairman of his golf club, Ryde Golf Club as well.
He was also a member of the Brading Yachts Club, loved sailing.

Besides all this he enjoyed gardening, skiing, swimming and playing badminton.

He leaves behind his wife, three daughters and eight grandchildren. One of his daughters, Collette, is a press secretary to the Queen.