TESTIMONIAL - as recorded in Funeral Service notes, July 2000:

Richard Charles West was born, the year the Titanic went down. on 15th June 1912, in Dolgarrog, North Wales. A son for Will and Alice West and a brother for Bill, Walt, Win, Rose, Jim. Albert, Edith, Florence and step sister Eileen.

The family has arrived in Dolgarrog through his dad having been the delivery driver of a Foden Steam Truck to there. The customer offered gime the job to stay and drive it - so he did. It was by this chance happening that young Dick spent the fisrst twelbe years of his lige in North Wales.

Dick's mother, Alice, died of TB when he was 12 yr (in 1925) and so his father moved the family back to Appleton.

A year later the Water Resevoire above Dolgarrog burst its banks and the flood that followed destroyed the house where the family had lived. Leaving them with a sense in which their mother's death had saved he family.

Dick's first job on leaving school was as a Tipper Truck driver for Tuckwells. Although under age, he just told them he could drive, got in the truck and drove it - he was like that.

After a couple of years, Dick joined the peace time army.

Dick met the love of his life at the Abingdon Fair.

Her name was Nellie Naomi, a young girl from Amondford(sic - Ammanford?), South Wales, working in service at Radley College. And so it was, on 8th April 1939 when he was 26, and Nellie 25, the happy couple were mnarried at St Andrew Parish Church, Cardiff.

That was the year that war broke out and so Dick was called up to join the army, serving as a sergeant in the Royal Artillery. During this five years Dick was rescued from Dunkirk and then continued to do four more years in India, fighting alongside the Indian Army.

After the war Dick returned to work at the MG Car Co test driving tanks. Once tank production stopped he went on to road test MG's

The family had grown during the war with the birth of Richard and Christopher, who died in infancy, now exapnded with the arrival of Caroline and John.

One of the early memories of the days at 108 Wootton Road, Whitecross, was of Dad coming home at lunchtime in one of the cars he was testing and taking the kids for a little spin around the block.

In 1953 the family moved to live in East Hendred, and take on running the Eyston Arms Pub, on the Eyston Estate. This was quite ironic because one of Dick's jobs with MG before the war was to transport the record breaker cars which Sir George Eyston used to break the land speed record in Utah. Dick had a picture of this event on his wall, signed by Sir George Eyston.

Dick retured from MG's in 1978. His love of cars never wavered and even jobs on the go he would often be seen working on a rusty old car in his garage at the Prince Of Wales. No job was too big for him.

Dick and Nellie continued to run the pub until 1982. But even then theyr weren't ready to return and so Dick worked as the handy man at St Edmunds Convent School, while Nellie prepared breakfast for boarders.

1973 to 1980 brought Dick and Nellie the special gift of becoming grandparents to Lee, Jay, Haylee, Mark and Helen. Dick now became 'Dar' and staying over at Sherwood Avenue was always special. With trips to the Abbey Grounds, and to Dar's allotment. And sleeping in the magic bed.

Dick never really kept up his links with the army, but he always used to tell his grandson, Jay, that he should join the army. And so the tradition developed between them that they would salute one another whenever they met. Jay would always say "Carry on Colonel" and his Dad(sic) would reply "Carry on Major"

After over 53 years of committed married life together, Nellie died.

In 1996 Dick moved to Saddlers Court to spend a happy final four years surrounded by family and good neighbours.

He's been brought up to be hard, tough and strong minded, a 'Typical Bloody West.'

He has revelled in fitness and all that life had to offer.

He had held a driving licence from 1929 till 1999.

He had faced everything that had been thrown at him.

He always had a story to tell (even if we had heard it a hundred times before) and right up to the end he never lost his sense of humour or his alertness.

The only day he didn't complete the Daily Mail Crossword was the day he died.

All of us know something of Dick - only God knows us all

1921 Census

No.1 Bungalow, Dolgarrog