Major Hartley Honeyman MBE

Major Hartley Honeyman MBE

The Editor and members of the Editorial Board wish to express their deepest sympathy to Fiona, Nigel and Kate on the sudden death of their father on 2nd December 2002.

Hartley had been associated with the production of this magazine ever since its early days at the end of the 1980s.  Sid Russell, our first editor, organised a team of ladies responsible for its final assembly until his successor Monty Dawson asked Hartley to take on the job with a few helpers in the early 90s.

He and his team continued to do so until Mike Eyre took over as Editor, bringing in the electronic era with him.  From this point on, with the Print Room undertaking the final magazine assembly, Hartley continued to carry out the final checks before despatch for distribution.

Hartley and Diana moved here in 1969 with their young family while he was still a serving officer in the Army and from those early days, Hartley was involved in some way or other with the community, although never being in the best of health in his later years.

With enthusiasm and willingness, he played a part in many of our lives.  One of his great loves in life was sport, especially tennis; he represented the Army and he was a founder member of the club here before the present courts were laid down.  In all things he was always smiling, kind, cheerful and a true friend; a friend we admired and a friend we have loved.  Many, many other things he did, too numerous to mention, but we shall remember them.

Reprinted from the Compton & Shawford Parish Magazine, January 2003.

Editor’s note:

There has been a Parish Magazine since long before the 1980s. The earliest mention I have found is to a letter written by Rector Cecil Cooper in 1904 on the subject of the extension to All Saint’s Church. The earliest copy of the Parish Magazine that we have found, in the Hampshire Archive, dates from 1928, just after the arrival of Canon Philip Cunningham as Rector.

Hartley was the last generation to assemble the magazine in the days when “cut and paste” meant literally that.