Obituary: Norman Yates – former Sway parish councillor and chairman of village conservation group
A FORMER Sway parish councillor and chair of the village Conservatives group, Norman Yates, has died at the age of 93.
A well-known figure in the Sway community where he lived for three decades, Norman was also the longstanding church treasurer and instrumental in the planning of the church rooms.
Born in August 1927 in Nottingham, Norman was educated at Forest Fields junior School and High Pavement Grammar School. He left at 17 to join the Nottingham city treasurer’s department.
He met his future wife Mavis when they were still teenagers, through the friendship of their parents. They married in 1949, at St Augustine’s Church in Nottingham where Norman was a sacristan and churchwarden.
Their honeymoon should have been on board their boat, but unfortunately it sprang a leak the night before and they ended up in a hotel. They were married for 71 years, receiving three cards in recognition from the Queen. They had two daughters, Alison and Lesley.
In 1945 Norman was called up and elected to join the navy, and after basic training he was seconded to the Fleet Air Arm, supplies branch. He served in Lee-on-Solent, Northern Ireland and the Far East. He spent time in Trincomalee, Singapore and Hong Kong developing a lifelong love of east Asia.
After demob in 1947, Norman rejoined the city treasurers where he became an accountant and later an auditor. In 1964 he joined Lloyds Bank in Nottingham as a late entrant and served there until 1971 when he was promoted to a manager in the executor and trustees branch in Southampton, retiring in 1987.
Soon after moving to Sway in 1972, Norman joined the parish council later becoming chairman until he left for Wimborne in 1984. He was an active supporter of the youth centre and church treasurer responsible for the funding for the new church rooms.
On his return to Sway in 1992, Norman became involved in politics, becoming a member of the local Conservative party, acting as treasurer and finally chairman.
Away from work Norman enjoyed fishing, sailing, shooting and motor racing and rallying either by car or motorcycle. He also played bridge and mahjong.
He started fishing as a small child and especially loved occasional salmon fishing in Scotland and sea fishing. He enjoyed fishing trips to the North Sea via Grimsby and later combined visiting his daughter Lesley in America with trips to Mexico hunting for marlin and shark.
In his later years he enjoyed fly fishing as a member of a private trout fishing club on lakes and a tributary of the river Avon near Fordingbridge.
In his youth Norman was a keen motorcyclist. His first bike was a Francis Barnet, followed by a Velocette and finally a Norton trials bike. He started in grass track racing with Mavis riding pillion as his mechanic. He later enjoyed car rallying which involved night driving through Derbyshire in all weathers.
When the couple moved again to Sway, Norman took up dinghy sailing and joined the Royal Southampton Yacht Club, progressing to a small, four-berth sailing cruiser called Red Dragon. He enjoyed many days pottering on the Beaulieu River and Poole harbour.
Shooting was also a lifelong passion of Norman who enjoyed both rifle and clay pigeon shooting and, until later restrictions, also pistol shooting. He was a member of the Carbery Rifle and Pistol Club.
Holidays were often spent in the US or Germany visiting daughters Alison and Lesley. Norman and Mavis finally left Sway in 2003, moving to a flat in Lymington. Until he developed Alzheimer’s about five years ago, Norman kept up interests in politics, shooting, trout fishing and social events at the yacht club.
Norman remained at home with Mavis three months before his death, supported by his daughters Lesley and Alison. He is also survived by his grandsons Daniel and Christopher.
