Obituary: Carol Green – community stalwart who led Beaulieu Parish Council
A FORMER chair of Beaulieu Parish Council and East Boldre Girl Guiding leader, Carol Green, has died at the age of 76.
A resident of the New Forest for over half a century, Carol stepped forward to run East Boldre Girl Guides soon after moving to the village in 1971.
When her three children were young Carol became a school governor having previously been instrumental in launching and running a playgroup.
She was also a longserving Beaulieu parish councillor, becoming chair after the death of Christopher Fairweather. She stepped down after six years as she felt it wrong to remain as leader for too long.
Around this time she became very involved with the Hautvillier Twinning Association, and many friends will remember her being shown how to cut the top off a bottle of champagne with a sabre at the group’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
After playing high-level county tennis as a teenager, she was also a founding member of East Boldre Tennis Club.
Born in Ealing on 2nd March 1946, Carol was the middle of three daughters who grew up in Harrow. During the war her mother was a night fire warden.
Her father was a squadron leader in bomber command, later flying the future Queen Elizabeth II back from Kenya on the death of King George VI. He also flew on the first Comet flight from America to England.
Along with her sisters, Carol attended Harrow County Grammar School. After completing her education the family moved to Hong Kong where her father was on a six-month tour of duty.
Carol considered becoming a model and then a florist, but eventually set her sights on training as an air hostess.
Unable to begin the role until she was 18, Carol instead started out as a travel agent. She progressed rapidly and arranged individual tours for wealthy clients, working from the company office in Jermyn Street, London.
In 1969 Carol married Steve and moved to the New Forest, moving to Beaulieu in 1975. As her family grew up she retrained as a bookkeeper and worked in a number of local hotels.
An avid gardener, the family home hosted a small menagerie of ducks, geese, cats, dogs and other small furry creatures.
Carol was extremely proud of her children Rosalind and Douglas – who are both GPs – and Felicia who studied physics at Oxford and went on to a career in research. Carol adored her grandchildren Lauren, Maya, Lyra and Niovi.
As longstanding members of the international friendship organisation Servas, Carol and Steve hosted overseas travellers to the Forest, and were welcomed into many communities around the world.
In later years, the couple backpacked their way round countries including China, Mongolia, Russia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Madagascar and most of South America.
A final trip on their 50th wedding anniversary saw the backpacks abandoned for more luxury as they cruised the mighty Brahmaputra River in northern India.
Despite suffering from cancer for many years, Carol never liked to talk about her illness and determinedly continued playing tennis and sailing in the Mediterranean until it was physically impossible.
She came home from hospital for the last two weeks of her life and died on 13th October with her family beside her.
Carol is survived by her husband, three children and four grandchildren. Her funeral service will be at the New Forest Crematorium in New Milton on Tuesday 8th November at 12.15pm. All are welcome.
