|
|||||||
Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) |
Share Thread
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: Herga Kitty Date: 03 Dec 09 - 02:51 PM Yes, Joe, thanks! Kitty |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: Leadfingers Date: 03 Dec 09 - 11:24 AM Thanks for posting that Joe . |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Dec 09 - 01:57 AM Charlie's daughter Anne asked me to post this, and I thought it was a very nice idea. It tells his story well. Thank you, Anne. EULOGY FOR CHARLIE HARDY I feel very privileged to have been asked by the Hardy family to say a few words about Charlie on their behalf. I feel as though I have been in the parish for a very long time having arrived in 1963 - but Charlie and Doreen had already been here then for 26 years having arrived in 1937, a year before this Church was built. Charlie was born in South Shields on August 7th 1912. He was the eldest of 10 children 6 boys and 4 girls. One of his brothers joined the Blessed Sacrament Order and became Brother Edmund and his sister Catherine became a member of the Helpers of the Holy Souls, sadly another sister Joan died at the age of 22 and only Kevin the youngest is still alive. When Charlie was 23 he came down to London for work - but his heart always remained in the North East - he was forever proud to be a true Geordie. He met Doreen his wife at a Parish Dance in Whetstone and she was the love and sustaining force in his life for 72 Years. They married at High Barnet Church and had 4 daughters - Maureen. Margaret. Bernadette and Ann. Charlie and Doreen suffered a tragic loss when their daughter Maureen died at the age of 6. Many people said of the little girl that she was just too good and sweet for this world. Happily, they have two grandchildren Vincent and Christopher and 2 great-grandchildren Peter and Jennifer and of course their Sons-in-law Jean-Francois and Dennis. Charlie took on a number of different jobs throughout his working life. He had started in the shipyard at the Tyne Dock and then went on to work in the building industry as well as the removal and postal services. Just before the war he had joined the Territorial Army. His last job was in Austin Read's in London and nobody thought this was really Charlie's Cup of tea but to everybody's amazement he said it was the best workplace he had ever been in. Charlie loved painting, writing poems, photography for which he won a prize and of course songs (he wrote a special one for Doreen) It is in the singing that we in the parish all remember him so well. Whenever we visited Charlie in his last years he always insisted in singing us a song and had an extraordinary strength in his voice for someone in their nineties. On a more recent visit to the Ravenscroft Home we took the Hymn Book as we knew he would respond to a sing-along of the old hymns he loved so much. But it was Folk singing that was his great passion and enjoyment. He remembered all his folk friends with great affection. He sang regularly at the Black Bull Whetstone where the evening was run for years by Dennis O'Brien. His friends Mike and Jenny used to take him every Monday to the Herga folk club and he used to go away for weekends called "Song and Ale Festival" at Whittlebury where he used to sleep in the Hay Barn but as he got older, his friends Sylvia and Jeff gave him a small room in the farmhouse. I have a personal memory of Charlie when we asked him to sing at a Victorian music hall Evening in our parish. Charlie of course took his singing very seriously and he was on the platform just about to start his song when suddenly there was a loud hissing noise. A few of us at the back of the hall were trying to cope with a barrel of beer which was doing its own thing and we finally quietened it. Charlie was just about to start for the second time and it started to hiss again and we were laughing nervously, desperate to stop the wretched thing. After a 3rd attempt to sing, we finally got the better of the barrel -But Charlie was not amused!! Meanwhile his friends from Tyneside, Bill and Sylvia Redhead always kept him in touch with news from the North East by regularly sending him the local papers. When Mary, the daughter of their dear friends Sylvia and Gerald in Australia, visited England, as she always promised Charlie she would do, she wrote a poem which you can Read on the back of your Order of Service Sheet. But in the end there was no doubt that the most important thing in Charlie's life was his Faith which sustained him through the physical difficulties of advancing age. He was what I would call a good old-fashioned Catholic who would defend his Church to the bitter end. Recently when he went into respite care in Ravenscroft Home some of the young staff said they thought of themselves as "Charlie's Angels". Charlie, also was a dedicated member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and The Knights Of St.Columba. The family would like to thank Father Nicodemus and all those in the parish who supported Charlie in his last days. They extend their warm thanks to the Doctor and Nurses at Barnet General Hospital, to all the District Nurses. Carers, friends and Neighbours, and those who prayed with Charlie in his very last days. They thank you from the bottom of their hearts and will remember you all in their prayers. In the parish visits from the priests were always very special and much appreciated Doreen remembers how Father Vincent trudged through thick snow to bring them Holy Communion and Father John soon found his way round the kitchen to make cups Of tea. In Charlie's last years Father Derek celebrated House Masses for various occasions the last one being Charlie and Doreen's 70th wedding anniversary. The family said that Father Derek never left without Dad singing a song! They were all so grateful to receive Holy Communion so frequently, due to the dedication of the Eucharistic Ministers. Lastly Bernadette told me that when Father Nicodemus annointed Charlie and made the Sign of the Cross on his forehead a big smile came across his face. He knew he was going home. MAY HE REST IN PEACE. Rest in peace, Charlie. It sounds like you were a good man, and that people loved you very much. -Joe Offer- |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: GUEST,Bessie Date: 11 Nov 09 - 11:55 PM It was so lovely reading all the wonder memories people have of my favourite folk singer. He will always be in my heart and every time I visit London i will always keep with me the fond memories of Charlie singing and making me feel a true part of the family. A big hug Doreen, Margaret, Bernadette and Anne. Hope to see you all in December. Always 'the Aussie you can't get rid of' Bessie |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: GUEST Date: 11 Nov 09 - 09:26 PM SO sorry for your loss Your Dad will be missed Deepest .Regrets from the Scheffs Jerry & Marge |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: GUEST,moira(flying cat) Date: 09 Nov 09 - 05:06 PM Also great memories of hearing him sing at Herga. condolances to the family. RIP, Moira and Malc |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009 From: GUEST,His Daughter Ann ( swindon)9 Nov 2009 Date: 09 Nov 09 - 11:33 AM I just wanted to thank all the kind people sending messages about my dad thanks |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: GUEST,Gerald, Sylvia and family Date: 04 Nov 09 - 10:26 PM Charlie, Gerald here we were good dart players in our day. We had some fun. Doreen we had some good meals down their at Linthorpe road especially the sausage rolls. Charlie, Sylvia here I can just see you now catching up with Catherine Cookson. Doreen so loved by such a man. Love and prayers for all. Gerald, Sylvia and Family xxx |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: GUEST Date: 04 Nov 09 - 09:05 PM Uncle Charlie our God Father and close friend of Mum and Dad. We have grown up with many happy stories about you and always enjoyed your songs and stories when we met up. RIP and our love and blessings to your loving wife and family. Blessing and thoughts to you from Australia....... Bernadette and Family |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: RoyH (Burl) Date: 04 Nov 09 - 06:01 AM Sad to see Charlie go but he had a long life, well lived, and will be fondly remembered. RIP Charlie. |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy (North London) (2 Nov 2009) From: GUEST,Mary Jones Date: 04 Nov 09 - 02:11 AM Uncle Charlie may you rest in peace. Alot of fond memories when he came to Australia. Glad i saw him in August 2009. Love to the family xxxxx |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy From: Herga Kitty Date: 03 Nov 09 - 06:23 PM Orwell recorded 8 of Charlie's songs on a CD ("Flowers of Tyneside") when Charlie was 87. Kitty |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy From: Dave Sutherland Date: 03 Nov 09 - 02:53 PM Very sorry to hear this although 97 years is a full life. Often met up with Charlie on his visits back to South Shields and we corresponded at times even after I had left the North East. RIP |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy From: BB Date: 03 Nov 09 - 02:52 PM Sad to hear of Charlie's passing. He was a fine singer and a notable writer of songs of his native Tyneside. Another of the old Whittlebury Song & Ale regulars - three within just a couple of weeks, all of them excellent singers. Please, no more :-(( Barbara |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy From: Herga Kitty Date: 03 Nov 09 - 02:18 PM IIRC, the concert at the Pump House was to celebrate Charlie's 80th birthday - it seems hardly any time at all! I remember him lustily singing McAlpine's Fusiliers - complete with sou'wester and spade, I think. Deep condolences to the family. Kitty |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy From: Mick Pearce (MCP) Date: 03 Nov 09 - 01:08 PM So sorry to hear this. Although he abandoned Tyneside long ago for London he never forgot those roots in his songs. IIRC he wasn't on the Jarrow march, but I think he told me he did sing for them at a stop somewhere near London. He got his first job there as a barman having told the landlord he was experienced, when he'd never even been in a pub before!. He later worked on the roads and built the road he eventually lived in. I was just looking at the song sheet he produced: Poems of a Geordie Lad (in aid of the North of England Cancer Research Campaign, foreword by Catherine Cookson no less) and most of the titles tell of fondness for his homeland: The Story of the Jarrow Marchers, Down by the River Tyne, Tyneside Lament, Blood on the Coals, The Yards of the Tyne, Back to Tyneside, The Rose of Tyneside, The Flowers of Tyneside. I have many fond memories of him at Herga (which he gave up when it became too difficult for him to get out of the house to get there), not least the concert we put on at the Pump House, Watford with Charlie as the star performer. The song Blood On The Coals has a special memory for me, as it was one of the songs I recorded with Herga Kitty. I haven't seen him for a long time, but haven't forgotten him, and as Leadfingers said, 97 was a good run. RIP Charlie. Mick |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy From: Hovering Bob Date: 03 Nov 09 - 10:50 AM Lots of fond memories of Charlie, even if he was the archetypal irascible old sod! We've lost a good man, a notable source singer, a unique character. He left there many years ago but he never lost that 'Jarrow' touch. Good on yer Charlie, BobH |
Subject: RE: Obit: Charlie Hardy From: Leadfingers Date: 03 Nov 09 - 09:30 AM Find memories of Charlie - Though I think the last time we met was at The Great Harrow Fiasco of 1986 ! 97 is a good innings ! R I P ! |
Subject: Obit: Charlie Hardy From: GUEST,Orwell Date: 03 Nov 09 - 08:21 AM Charlie Hardy who was a regular face at Folk Clubs around North London for years in the 60/70/80's - in particular The Herga Folk Club died aged 97 on Monday. He wrote a number of very good songs in particular Blood On The Coals and The Song of The Jarrow Marchers and retained his melodic barritone voice almost to the last. |
Share Thread: |
Subject: | Help |
From: | |
Preview Automatic Linebreaks Make a link ("blue clicky") |