Living memorial for Buxted's much-loved village doctor

In March, a tree was planted on the Ionides Land in Buxted in memory of Robert Harrison. Parish Council chair Vivienne Blandford said: “Rob Harrison had been a GP in Buxted for over thirty years and had taken over from his parents. Both of them had also been GPs in Buxted. Rob retired some thirty years ago but there are many people still living in Buxted who had fond memories of a truly friendly old-style GP who would type up prescriptions on an old Remington typewriter. His tree, a Wild Service Tree also known as the ‘Chequer Tree’ is a lovely native tree. It was planted next to a Pin Oak that had been planted a couple of years ago in memory of Rob’s first wife, Christina who had worked at the practice as a nurse and receptionist. His second wife, Jenny, had asked members of the Ionides Trust if it would be possible to plant a tree in this location, which they were happy to do.”

The Ionides land was donated by the Ionides family in 1953 for the social and recreational use of the community. It now houses Buxted’s new medical centre and will also be the site of a new village hall. Basil Ionides, a well-known architect, had saved Buxted Park from demolition and subsequent development in the early 1930s.

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1) Make our website your homepage at www.sussexexpress.co.uk/

2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Sussex-Express/

3) Follow us on Twitter @sussex_express

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

The Sussex Express - always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.