Tributes paid to champion of the community
Over 100 people pay respects to Peter Hall at celebration of his life
FOND tributes have been paid to a former councillor who worked tirelessly to improve the village of Burbage, writes Annie Delin.
Over 100 people gathered at Millennium Hall to pay their respects to Peter Hall, the first chairman of Burbage Parish Council when it relaunched in 1986.
He died at the age of 85 after more than 40 years serving the area.
Cllr Hall served as a Hinckley and Bosworth borough councillor, school governor at Hastings High School and founder and first chairman of Burbage Heritage Group.
The community champion was laid to rest in a private burial at Lychgate Lane cemetery, before an event at the Millenium Hall to celebrate his life and achievements.
The unconventional service included singalong music by
Doris Day and Cat Stevens, family memories and a wheelbarrow loaded with a bouquet of vegetables, symbolising cllr Hall’s passion for the earth and all growing things.
He was signed up to be the first heritage warden in the area and to be a tree warden, recording all the mature trees of note in the parish and organising many of the tree preservation orders that are now in place.
Tributes were paid by Sylvia Whitworth of Burbage Heritage Group, by Bosworth Liberal Democrats chairman David Bill and by Ron Brown, a former colleague and friend of over 60 years standing.
All paid tribute to his idealism, practical problem solving, dedication to his community and championing of the environment, especially at local level. His kindness to friends and support for his family, particularly for his four grandsons, was also mentioned.
Former Parish Council chairman Keith Lynch said after the service: “I have been a councillor for 37 years and known Peter still longer. He was an incredible man and what was said at the service was right on the button.
“His love of heritage and the environment was an inspiration.
“He was a man who always stopped and thought about what he was going to say. I have never heard him say a negative thing about anybody and I always listened to his opinions with great respect.”
Paul Williams, the current chairman of the parish council, said: “My first memory of Peter is of the first time I attended a meeting of the Bosworth Lib
Dems and got a great welcome, spending most of the meeting talking with Peter.
“Today’s service was excellent and really reflected his life. I think it is a tribute to his impact on this community that the hall was full and that there was no space left even at the back.”