Tributes paid to 'generous' former Vice-Chair of the Midhurst Society

Harvey Tordoff, 78, passed away peacefully in his Midhurst home on 11 May 2025. Born in Bradford, and moving to Sussex towards the end of his life, Mr Tordoff was best known in Midhurst for his dedication to the Midhurst Society, where he served as vice-chair and spear-headed a range of incredible community projects.

As well as editing the society magazine and setting up its hugely successful Facebook page, Mr Tordoff was also responsible for the siting of the Philip Jackson-made Dante statue, which now takes pride of place in the South Pond gardens.

The story goes that Mr Tordoff asked Jackson if it would be possible for the town council to borrow and display one of his maquettes.

The artist refused, adding that the maquettes were too fragile for public display, and instead offered the town one of his larger bronze statues for permanent exhibition – much to Harvey’s surprise.

After that, Mr Tordoff, alongside the rest of the Midhurst Society, worked with Chichester District Council for six years to make sure the statue – which represents 13th century Italian poet Dante – found the right home, with all the right permissions, here in Midhurst.

For son Ben, that commitment was characteristic of a man determined to spend his twilight years ‘giving back’ to his community, a man who, at the end of his time here, felt “he had lived a full and wonderful life and felt he had no more left that he needed to achieve.”

"I think that Harvey would want to be remembered as an honest, generous, hard working man,” Ben said. “He had a great sense of humour which he'd had to rein in during his high powered business days but allowed out again in later years.

"He cared for people. There’s no question about that. He was an old softy. He helped family and friends with various things over the years and, just like my mum, he was there for people to talk to.”