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Obituary: Peter Baker – former Ringwood councillor was passionate about social equality and ‘always immaculately dressed’




Peter Baker
Peter Baker

A FORMER Ringwood councillor and banker with a strong interest in politics, social justice and football has died at the age of 94.

The son of a naval officer, Peter Baker spent part of his childhood in Malta before serving in later life as chair of Ringwood Town Council between 1993 and 1996 and going on to become the mayor of Verwood.

He came of age during the Second World War and joined the RAF late in the conflict, before moving to Weymouth where he joined Barclays Bank and met his wife Diana.

After having their first child, Monica, they later moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where Peter took up a position with Barclays International.

Following the birth of their son Mark, the family moved back to the UK and Peter resumed his banking career, being promoted to a management role.

Peter’s son-in-law, Brian Hooper, said this was a job he enjoyed, and the position in those times “held a rather higher social status than today”.

“He was a little surprised when in the 1970s, in the then largely unknown and rather old fashioned Cotswold town of Chipping Norton, he was sent a brace of pheasants at Christmas – the sort of gift which it was thought appropriate to the role!”

Brian described his father-in-law as a man of “religious commitment and conviction”, having been educated at Catholic academies in South London and, later, Farnborough.

“Peter demonstrated his support for the church by dedicating a significant part of his income to it,” said Brian. “However, despite his commitment to the Catholic church, he maintained a liberal and non-doctrinaire approach to life in general, including religion, and was very open to new ideas.

“In keeping with this, whilst living in the New Forest area, he increasingly engaged with ecumenical church developments, and in his later years he worshipped within the Church of England.”

Peter was also passionate about the issue of social inequality, and was a strong supporter of the Labour Party.

Brian continued: “In the 1950s up until the 1970s, Peter took a particular interest in Communism, taking a number of family holidays in Russia, Yugoslavia, Albania and other Eastern Bloc countries.

“In the 1980s, he took on a constituency association role with the Labour Party, maybe as secretary or treasurer, and faced the somewhat formidable challenge of being an opposition party competing in the true blue Buckinghamshire constituency of Amersham and Chesham.”

After retirement, Peter and Diana moved to Ringwood and both joined the Liberal Democrat party. Peter was elected to councils at town, district and county level.

“He was remembered as a gracious and dignified councillor who retained his composure at all times, and was always immaculately dressed,” said Brian.

After moving over the county border to Verwood in Dorset, Peter became involved in the town council there and served as mayor in 2004.

“He left a strong impression in the town,” continued Brian. “Despite the passage of years, the current town clerk recalls Peter was ‘such a gentleman’, and so sensible and clear-headed in dealing with council business.”

In his later years, Peter re-joined the Labour party and was a member of Chippenham Probus Club.

“Needless to say, throughout his life Peter was an inveterate book purchaser, and of course his specialist interest was in political works and biographies,” said Brian.

“He was a well-travelled man, driving throughout Europe and going further afield to mystical places in the east such as Samarkand in Uzbekistan.”

Over the years and throughout the various family moves, Peter had a lifelong interest in football, supporting teams in Reading, Oxford, Watford, and latterly both Southampton and Bournemouth, for which he had season tickets.

He and Diana moved to Chippenham in 2016 to be closer to family, which included their great-grandchildren Katie and Matilda, whose visits gave them much joy.

“He had a successful life and was a well-respected, mannerly and gentlemanly figure with a fine record of public service,” said Brian. “We will miss him very much.”



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