John Richard Humphreys Beadon (1910 - 30 April 2005) - R.I.P.

I did not know Mr Beadon, but he was a former colleague in the bank I worked for. He served between 1927 and 1961, in other words he retired when I was only nine years old. So why am I writing about him here? Well, I just had an email notification of his demise and was intrigued to note where he lived and where his funeral is to take place, today, on St Helena - a small island in the South Atlantic; I had noticed his exotic address before from a list I receive regularly. Indeed there are a number of other less usual current countries of residence (e.g. Turks and Caicos Islands, Andorra, Mauritius, Brasil, Nepal) or former staff such as me, but I think St Helena is probably the most remote, with a regular sea link only about twice a month; there is at present no airport.

The email says he passed away peacefully - not bad, to live to the age of 95 and to pass away peacefully in a remote and peaceful (and I assume windy) spot.