Chairman Barry Summerfield writes ...

It is sad to record the recent passing away of Ted Shrimpton, husband of our Membership Secretary, Margaret.

Ted was such a keen supporter of Fellowship activities that one tended to forget it was his wife who was the member! He was very proficient at ten-pin bowling and nothing pleased him more than to coach the less able among the regulars, analysing our efforts and telling us where we had gone wrong. Despite this none of us could match his idiosyncratic bowling style.

Ted's career was spent with Royal Mail and he also served his community as a Liberal Democrat councillor. He liked to talk, possessing strong views on a variety of topics that he regularly regaled to those attending the apres bowling pub lunches.

His cheery disposition and good nature will be very much missed but his photographic contribution to the web site will serve as a reminder for the future. Our thoughts are with Margaret and her family at this difficult time and during the months ahead.

Joe Davis died on 20 January 2012 at the age of 83

Educated at Erith Grammar School, Joe began his career in the Aviva Group with Northern Assurance Company, where he became a Senior Fire Surveyor. In this role he developed an interest in fire marks and an expertise which led to active involvement and a pivotal role with the affairs of the Fire Mark Circle.

His talent for painstaking research, in this and other areas, helped build the sort of encyclopaedic knowledge that would make him a prized companion in a quiz team. His other interests were numerous and he became a knowledgeable birdwatcher and very handy with a camera.

Although known to us as ‘Joe’ , the name by which he was more widely known is Mike Davis and later in life it was Mike Davis who became very involved in the affairs of the Ashford Branch of the Kent Family History Society, where he was Honorary Branch President when he died.

And most of all members of Invicta will remember Joe as a valuable member of the Executive Committee, serving as Secretary for many years.

I was one of 4 Executive Assistants at HO (another title for a dogsbody). My immediate boss was Jimmy Tait and the AGM was AWS. I learnt very fast and painfully that AWS did not understand the phrase "it can't be done" and one had to admire his energy and drive. He was very keen on new ideas that brought efficiency to daily work. he also welcomed and embraced the new world of technology.

As anyone who was involved with Allan will know he was not too keen on being challenged and you had better have a very good reason for doing so. There is an anecdote I have that shows AWS's humour. On arrival at HO I was told that my boss was on holidayin Majorca and at a place that I was going to next week. AWS told me that he had a very important document that he needed to get to Jimmy Tait, and would I seek him out and deliver it when I got there. The day before we left the tour operator informed us our that our hotel was not ready, but they had upgraded us to one very near (the same hotel that JT was in). It took me a day to finally contact JT (we were both standing in the same buffet queue), and I informed him I had a very important file that AWS wanted him to read. JT smiled and we met later for a drink and I duly handed over the file. I thought he was very unconcerned with the contents and it was only several months later that I realized I had been sent, like many an apprentice before me, to buy a "left-handed screwdriver".

On retirement Peter Wilson, another founder member with AWS and John Searle of NEW Invicta, invited Maggie and I to a pub lunch and it was then I realised that drive and energy still existed in full measure from AWS. Prior to these early energisers the pensioners were invited once a year to Coffee and Biscuits by the local Branch Manager. Later when the various mergers had taken place I, along with David Morgan, represented CU in the formation of the Aviva Fellowship. A lot of the format, job descriptions and procedures etc that were used came from Invicta going back to those early years.