VERNON
ANDERSON – (1936 –
2021)
It is with
profound sadness that we record
the death of Vernon Anderson, who
peacefully passed away on June
15th, after a period of ill
health borne with great courage
and dignity.
A native of
Benfleet, Essex, Vernon was
educated at Bearwood Royal Navy
School in Berkshire and saw
military service with the RAF,
being stationed in the (then)
British colony of Aden (now
Yemen). Returning to Benfleet, he
became a member of the Barking
Choral Society, where he met his
future wife Beryl and they
married in 1971. Sadly, Beryl
passed away in 2005, after having
been cared for by Vernon during
her terminal illness.
During the 1980s
and 1990s, he worked as an
Architectural Technician for the
London Borough of Newham, but
took early retirement. He then
volunteered as a care assistant
with the Alzheimer's Society and
eventually became employed by
that organisation.
Vernon had been a
stalwart member of the Robert
Farnon Society, attending almost
every meeting for many years, and
regularly presenting as well. He
enjoyed, and had a wide knowledge
of, many different musical
genres, including of course Light
Music, particularly that of
Robert Farnon and his
contemporaries. One of his great
'loves' was jazz piano and he
often championed the brilliant
playing of the very talented
Scottish pianist Bill McGuffie.
I was always very
appreciative of Vernon's
assistance at RFS events, for he
frequently helped me to
dismantle, pack away and load the
Audio-Visual equipment into my
vehicle at the end of each
afternoon's programme. It gave us
a good opportunity to talk about
music – and architecture,
another of our mutual interests.
Although more
recently he was no longer able to
attend the London meetings at the
Lancaster Hall Hotel, we kept in
intermittent touch by telephone.
I visited him during the summer
of 2020 at his home near Ilford,
just before he relocated to
assisted living accommodation in
Basildon. He was later
hospitalised, before ultimately
being moved into a nearby
high-dependency nursing home, in
March 2021.
Vernon was a
thorough gentleman – and
indeed a very gentle man. It was
an absolute pleasure and
privilege to know him and he will
be greatly missed. On behalf of
all former RFS members and LLMMG
attendees, our sincere
condolences are extended to his
daughters Lynda and Claire and
his son Keith – who, back in
the 90s, also supported the
Robert Farnon Society meetings at
the Bonnington Hotel.
© Tony
Clayden June 2021
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