Catsfield Village Voice

The Fundraisers of St Laurence Church are planning a Harvest Supper to be held in the Village Hall tomorrow, Saturday 4th October at 7pm. Tickets are £15 each and to check if there are any still available call Sandra on 01424 774708 or 07545292533

On Sunday 5th October at 9.15am St Laurence Church will be holding a service of thanksgiving for the harvest, it will also be the family service after which refreshments will be served. As with all services, everyone is welcome to come and join us. The church will be decorated for the Harvest Festival tomorrow (Saturday) morning and if you wish to contribute harvest gifts, please could you bring them along to the church at 9am.

It is with great sadness that Catsfield has heard that Patricia Jackson, more widely known as Pat Speedy, has recently died. Pat was a well-known and stalwart member of the village community for over forty years and still has many close friends here. There were few aspects of life in the village in which she was not involved. She was chairman of the Parish Council, president of the WI, editor of Village Voice for over twenty years and the Parish magazine. She was inaugurator of the Book Club, the Catsfield Friday 55 Lunch Club and the History Group and leader at St Laurence Church of the annual Womens’ World Day of Prayer. She took a huge interest in the Brassey family and Normanhurst Court, carrying out much research into their history, writing about them and becoming an expert on the subject.

I know very little of Patricia’s background, other than having been told that she went to Kings College, became an English teacher and taught at Wadhurst school at some stage in her career.The son of a friend who was taught by her remembers even now the influence she still has on his choice of literature, forty-five or so years later. She lived at Longstone in Powdermill Lane for very many years with her husband Roger, a retired local farmer and she threw herself into village life, even more so after Roger sadly passed away. She regularly attended St Laurence Church and had many friends.

In 2012 she moved away from the village to start a different life in Exmouth with her soon-to-be husband, Peter Jackson and she handed Village Voice over to me and the Parish Magazine to John Overall. Patricia and Peter married in 2017 and were very happy together in Exmouth but sadly, on a return visit to Sussex, Peter became unwell and they hastily drove back to Devon. Within a couple of days he was on life-support and died a day or two later, they’d been married for barely a year. Many Catsfield friends drove to Devon for the funeral.

Patricia continued to live in Exmouth for a few more years, where she had many friends and interests. She eventually decided to return to Sussex to be near her son Michael and his family and for six months she happily rented a cottage in Henley Down, whilst she searched for a property in Bexhill. She bought a flat literally on the beach at Cooden Beach and was extremely happy there with her little dog Rocky whom she adored and used to walk on the shingle in all weathers until quite recently. In 2023 she invited a large number of Catsfield friends and her family to her 90th birthday celebration lunch at the Powdermills Hotel, which was such a lovely occasion and one that we all remember very fondly.

Patricia was a most remarkable lady, as can be seen by all that she achieved in her retirement years alone. Our Tree Warden John Feltwell was grateful for her support in promoting the parish footpaths organising many walks. She also had a keen understanding of how the various paragraphs applied when the new Hedgerow Regulations came out in 1997 and thus the hedgerows in the parish remain conserved, an even more vital nature resource today. Patricia became President of the WI and was involved in many of the Jubilee celebrations. At the same time, she belonged to a writers’ group in Battle publishing many stories and articles and was a keen member of the U3A. There was a time when the village shop was in danger of closing and how kind and generous she was, using her considerable energies in the struggle to keep it open.

The origins of the Catsfield 55 Lunch Club started when Patricia organised ‘Meals on Wheels’ to be delivered to the Village Hall so that for one day a week, the elderly people living in the bungalows opposite could all sit down to a meal together instead of always eating alone. The idea grew and Patricia turned it into a regular Friday 55 Lunch Club for any older village residents to come to the hall and enjoy a meal cooked on the premises and served by local volunteers. Libby Curtis was the cook, aided on occasion by Pat and a delicious two-course lunch with coffee or tea was served to about thirty diners for a paltry contribution towards expenses. There was a great atmosphere of camaraderie and fun. After Patricia moved away, the numbers gradually dwindled and the club sadly folded.

The Catsfield History Group was started by Patricia and one or two other residents of the village who were interested in local history as a project for the Millenium. Volunteers were recruited and set the task of recording various details of the village such as the type and construction of the properties, a survey was done of the cemetery and a map made of the position, names and ages on the various graves. Guided walks were led with commentary on aspects of the area given by the volunteers. A smaller version of The History Group still exists today and meets regularly to take care of the village archive, updating it as necessary and it is kept in its own room in the Village Hall.

The Book Club was organised by Patricia and was held in Hermon Cottage for a group of about eight local members. Pat would order copies of the book to be read, chosen by her from Battle library for each of the members and they would meet monthly to discuss the book. She was really quite strict and everyone had to speak in turn with no exchange of ideas, so by the time it got round to Gill Malins as the last contributor, most things had already been said. Anita took over when Pat moved away and it folded when she had to give up driving because no one was willing to organise the book collection.

During the later years whilst still living in Catsfield, she was diagnosed with cancer. She fought a private battle with the disease for which she was treated for many years as it slowly spread but she never complained. She was always bright and positive and treated everything with enthusiasm and as a challenge to be overcome, relying on her faith to see her through. A good friend and an example to us all.

Ann Davey remembers – Patricia was one of my great friends and a friend of the village. Sometimes we are lucky when a person moves into the village and makes a great impact on our lives, and she was one of those. In her usual positive fashion, she joined the Women’s Institute and also the Parish Council and was a regular church goer. I joined the Parish Council and eventually when Patricia became Chairman I worked with her on several projects, notably planning. As secretary of the Village Hall Committee we embarked on the huge renovation works of our Village Hall. Patricia steered us through this large undertaking, involving as it did the obtaining of grants and organisation of the various contractors, voluntary and professional. We made it with the spirit of goodwill intact.

She didn’t let the cancer diagnosis affect her life and after moving to Exmouth she and Peter got married and later hosted a huge party to which the groundsman and I were invited to stay and enjoy. Tragedy struck again and Peter died, Patricia came back here to live to be near her son. She was my mentor in many ways and I truly valued her intelligence, borne lightly as was her wont. She had such a verve for life, every visit was a pleasure and there was never a moan about her debilitating illness. I remember her with gratitude, kindness and valued our friendship. I’m sure everyone will join me with sending our sympathy to her beloved son Michael, grandson Sam and grandchildren.

Father Michael Brydon, former rector of St Laurence church writes - Pat Speedy was a name I learnt pretty early on, as she wrote the weekly column for Village Voice in the Battle Observer. She did a splendid job of celebrating all village events in Catsfield and promoting a real sense of community. Her distinctive literary style meant she was often quoted in conversation. My own efforts were confined to the Parish Magazine, something she had once edited and she both encouraged and offered constructive criticism. We did not always agree on how some things should be styled, but she forgave me because she also knew that I too cared deeply about life in Catsfield. During my time as rector, it was a sad day when she moved to Devon. But I recall with pleasure a happy return to celebrate a significant birthday in the village hall with all her friends.

Victoria Crawshaw writes - Patricia was a most memorable person and friend to me. We first met at a WI meeting, when she was President, very forthright! Always showed an interest in people and could particularly see their potential, be it helping with cake making, church cleaning, running a book stall, helping with Lunch Club, litter picking, dog walking and no doubt many other goodly deeds. She was a marvellous co-ordinator. It was a surprise to me when she decided to leave Catsfield for Exmouth, as she was involved in so many things in the village. However, it was lovely when she moved back this way a few years later and was extremely happy living in Cooden, with the beach on her doorstep and lovely neighbours. Her memory for historical dates and her knowledge about Lord and Lady Brassey were amazing, one would have thought she had lived with them and knew them personally. But she had of course read and fully digested the various books written about them. We had many meals together at each other's home and only the other day did I come across an Ode she wrote (some time back) to my "Fish Pie”! She and my husband enjoyed reading the Oldie Magazine and discussing the topics therein. She greatly enjoyed literature and had such exuberance. She was also an interesting, courageous, stoic vibrant and brave lady. May she rest in peace.

Linda Ireson writes - I was saddened to learn that Patricia Speedy had passed away. I didn't know her as well as many, but she was always so happy to chat and was a warm and generous host when we visited her in her flat overlooking the sea. She was also kind enough to invite us to her 90th birthday party a couple of years ago. A former editor of the Parish Magazine, Patricia was the author of Village Voice before Jill, the current one. I remember that my Dad used to rush to write the cricket reports for her in the summer - no computers in those days so logistical planning to get the report to her on time was important! Patricia had such a lovely speaking voice and her reading of the lesson in Church was beautiful. A lovely lady and a life well-lived: may she rest in peace.

Jill writes - Patricia became a good friend to me many years ago through village life and because we were regular members of St Laurence Church. My first husband Jim was an enthusiastic member of the Lunch Club and collected the money at the door for Patricia, coming home well-fed and full of local news and laughing about the good time he always enjoyed there. Patricia handed over the Village Voice column to me in 2012 when she and Peter had decided to move to Devon and she was a great comfort when Jim died suddenly that same year. We always kept in touch and she and Peter would come and visit when they returned to Sussex to see the family. I met and married my second husband Tony in 2017 just a couple of months after Patricia and Peter were married and it was while they were spending the afternoon with us a year or so later when Peter suddenly felt unwell and they decided to return to Exmouth. Everyone was so shocked to hear that he had died. Later, Tony and I visited Patricia in Exmouth and were welcomed to her lovely house, garden and surrounding area where she had made many friends. It was good to have Patricia back in Bexhill in more recent years. She was a dear friend who will be remembered by so many people with great affection and admiration for a life well lived. Patricia’s funeral is to be held at 2pm on Friday October 17th at Eastbourne Crematorium.