My boys always loved him. He was firm but fair and also very, very funny. He played a big part in my boys’ life and I will always be grateful for that.

He was the first teacher I worked with when I first started volunteering at school. Loved working with him and I’ll always remember him asking me if I’d considered doing my teacher training after he’d seen me working with the little maths groups. It felt like a real compliment for him to suggest that. We had some real laugh out loud moments when I was a teaching assistant working with him. A truly wonderful man who has doted on his family. Xx

Above photo from 1969 Isle of Wight Music Festival where we were saying “Foxtrot Oscar” to the noisy Police helicopter!

I was at Sec Mod school in King’s Lynn when I met Terry approx 1961 and enjoyed his quirky company so much. During those teenage years we acted in school plays, listened to Blues/Dylan records, played guitars together in our homes and then in folk clubs.

We would catch the London train to view guitars in Denmark St etc, visited Les Cousins club in Greek St., Soho to see Davy Graham, camped in Salcombe, Devon and of course, enjoyed the best of our part of Norfolk had to offer.

Was he frustrating and annoying, “Yes!” of course.

Rehearsals: Often after rehearsing a new song for days we’d be on a new folk club stage only to discover we’d run out of time before performing it due to him rattling on about some nonsense to the audience. But those stories were always more entertaining than the new songs!

We lost touch later but happily reconnected about 15 yrs ago as T & Sharon bought a caravan in our Norfolk seaside village of Heacham where we’d have fantastic days out enjoying once again Norfolk highlights. He loved the beaches, Norwich (a Fine City), RSPB Titchwell where I volunteer and enjoyed hearing about the fascinating migration bird journeys etc.

But mostly we enjoyed Sunday lunches at the Fox & Hounds and playing guitars together again.

Never a dull moment – thank you Terry for being such a great pal, for always being “UP!” and being such a huge part of my life.

RIP Terry, from old pal Ed

‘A truly wonderful man sums him up perfectly. xx

Terry – what a wonderful person, he will be missed xxxx

We did not know him for long but we quickly learned what a big character he was.

I shall remember him for fighting Parkinson’s disease for so long – but above all else his sartorial style and love of colour. Whenever I saw him he looked so smart and as a consequence I felt dowdy in my fleece. I am trying…

The person who had the greatest influence on me growing up, with his views on equality, etc.

Such a lovely man. He was so funny & made me feel so welcome when me and my friends came from the infants school.

Terry. I so appreciate our loving friendship. It has been a long ride together since Africa. Knowing you and our special friendship has enriched my life. I love you dearly, Howard.

Angela Karadog (née Gerrard)

From Karen Gillard, a colleague of Terry’s: For Terry – my mentor, my friend : the challenger !!!!!

When Terry and I first met at a school in Stoke, I was an Newly Qualified Teacher and he the Deputy Head.  He challenged me constantly: encouraged me to challenge him, policies,  theories, his ideas, my own ideas and although as a young teacher, I hated this …. I have realised that it came to be a common theme throughout our relationship that I will really miss!

He used to tap me on the shoulder and take me for a wander in the school grounds and I’d think, “Bloody Hell what have I done now ?” and he’d point out my errors in such a subtle and supportive way, giving me points to improve my work so cleverly, without damaging my young and enthusiastic ego that I almost believed that I had been the one to have these ideas in the first place !! – he empowered me and set me up in my career as a true team player.

His influence and challenge continued when I adopted a sibling group of three under-4s.  Emails, photo exchanges, anecdotes from Phoebe and Joe’s childhood- “You will get every ounce back three fold that you put into your children Karen…. Skip in libraries, sing on swings, and never say no when they ask for one more story even though it’s bedtime!!!!”

I loved going to The Brampton Museum with him, debating “best Dylan tracks”, being introduced to new and more importantly, old artists, having coffee and too much cake (he could certainly challenge me on the ‘cake consumption’).

More recently, despite his own position of physical challenge, Terry phoned me in the hospital having heard of my brain haemorrhage which had left me paralysed.  But T being T, his first words, rather than direct sympathy were, “Well Karen, if you didn’t want to come round for tea you could have phoned, no need for all this drama !”  Once again, he challenged me time and time again throughout that incredibly difficult and dark period:  suggesting ideas, making me accept adaptions and helping me accept my new me – his questioning and support, more authentic and helpful than the professional councillors, were based on lived experience with a sprinkle of “fuck off”and a lot of love – exactly what I needed!

So, Thank you dear dear Terry: for your culturally inspiring , challenging and supportive friendship and the important and lasting lesson that the greatest gift you can give any child, personally or professionally, is your time.

A man that devoted his life to his family and friends,  a true craftsman of the world and all things in it.   There wouldn’t be one point where if Terry was speaking you weren’t entranced by his story’s of life and travel. 

A free spirit, gentleman and all out legend.  You will be greatly missed, your time on this earth has given meaning to many.

Thank you for being a part of our lives, till we meet again.  Jordan 

Terry, in my eyes, was a warrior always fighting and never giving up, he will be sadly missed by all.

We had known Terry and Sharron for some time but it wasn’t until I found I had Parkinson’s that we become closer friends. Terry and I had similar backgrounds in science and engineering – and could happily discuss the design of a screwdriver handle for half an hour. Terry didn’t follow conventional rules. We were told about a Parkinson’s group at Chesterton but instead of going to the first meeting Terry persuaded me that we should dodge off and go to Hanley Museum instead. On the way back we called at a shop in Shelton and bought samosas from a gentleman Terry had met on his travels. We then took them to Newcastle Museum where he talked the cafe owner into letting us eat them there. We also dabbled in pottery and art, and enjoyed telling the lecturers that we both had Parkinson’s, and enjoyed watching the look on their faces as they wondered what they were letting themselves in for!

Terry was always a teacher at heart, he also attempted (not very successfully) to teach me guitar, although we usually ended up just talking about Bob Dylan or The Beatles. We all really enjoyed having video calls on Sunday mornings during Covid – it became the highlight of the week. We continued our Sunday morning conflabs and always enjoyed them even though we rarely got a word in edgeways once Cynthia and Sharon were in full flow.

He was always able to see the humour in life no matter how difficult it became. We so enjoyed knowing Terry and sharing his sense of fun. We’ll miss you Terry. With our love – Dennis and Cynthia

You, Sharon and the family have always held a special place in our hearts. We consider you amongst our oldest and dearest friends and we are all so lucky to have shared our lives with you.

You were there to celebrate our highs, always adding to the enjoyment with jokes and stories to regale us. And you selflessly supported us during our lows, with compassion and kindness.

You lived a life countless would be jealous of, but you shared that life with everyone you met and we are all the better for it. You are the epitome of a kind soul – selfless, principled, compassionate, striving to make the world a better place in your small way and ever the teacher. I can scarcely remember a time with you where I didn’t end the day having learnt something new, been introduced to a new band or artist, or broken into laughter at one of your many tales.

When my grandad passed away, you were there to console us and in your own way reassured us that we have to ‘Just carry on’  as that’s what he would have wanted. It’s bittersweet but that’s what we will do now, but know you will always hold a special place in our hearts and those of everyone that you have touched.

Thank you Terry, for everything you did, but most importantly for being you. With love, Courtney 

Terry was a friend of mine and Sharon and Terry adopted me when I met Mandy over 25 years ago. Fun, quirkiness, sartorial elegance, kindness, stoicism about his illness and a brilliant practical mind and fixer all typified his Norfolk soul.

I shall truly miss Terry and know that through you Sharon, Joe and Phoebe and all the brilliant memories we share that Terry will shine bright for a very long time .

Love to you,
Cookie 🍪 – Aka Professor Mike Cooke CBE

I’m really going to miss him- he has been a regular source of strength and advice through my physical adversity. And has never lost his humour through his! Such a wonderful family man.

It’s been a pleasure to have Terry in our lives, many laughs and fun on the the days we spent with him and Sharon. We feel so grateful for that time we shared.

My hero.

Terry always made time to ask how you and your family were! When my twins started in Year 3 in 1996, they were quiet well behaved children –  Terry realised that raising his voice to the class caused them to cry, so he would go and whisper, “I’m going to shout in a minute, but I don’t mean you.” What a wonderful teacher he was!

The day he was listening to a child reading and realised that he had fallen asleep,  but the boy was still reading when he woke…  such a great sense of humour as he confessed in the staff room.

I’m remembering a lovely conversation we had about the artist and writer John Patrick Burn . I had watched a documentary about him and we discussed our love of his work . Terry then went upstairs and returned with a wonderful album cover that Burn had designed. He spoke very enthusiastically and knowledgeably about his work . I absolutely loved the quirkiness of Burn. Just like I loved the quirkiness of Terry !❤️

Terry was a really important part of my childhood. I have so many memories of your house and spending time with you both growing up. Terry is such a creative, kind and cool man, I’ll always hold your family close to my heart.

When I think of Terry, Lyme Regis is never far from my thoughts. Among my favourite memories there, one evening the Spencers and the Sparrows played a game. We built contraptions to cushion an egg we dropped from the Cobb, a raised harbour wall we’d walk along, with the least-damaged egg crowned the winner. Many splatted yolks later, Terry had proven victorious with an intact egg, despite his contraption being in absolute tatters? Well played Terry.

We truly loved Terry. Discovering the family when Phoebe was a toddler, we’ve been so happy to relish their company. It was always something linked to food, gardens, theatre, galleries, wine or travel. We all treasured life’s simplest pleasures. Terry introduced us to Richard Thompson’s music, Hershey’s Bossoms, his legendary Aunty Molly, a local hero Mrs News at Ten, and lots more, including how to be the best dressed man in Staffordshire!

Terry – The Early Years Terry arrived in my world when he must have been about 14/15 years old. He became the “errand boy” for Miss Doris Elms, our local green grocers shop on Blackfriars Street in King’s Lynn. I remember him riding one of those Butchers Boy delivery bikes to take the orders to Doris’s customers. My sister, Anne, and I used to ‘help out’ at Doris’s shop as she was a friend of our mother. Terry became a family friend.

Terry’s personality ensured that laughter was a big part of the friendship. Terry helped me tune my little red transistor radio to Radio Caroline in the 1960s! Terry introduced me to music styles and bands I would never have known existed, as I was a “Mod” and a Motown fan.

Terry came to Stow Hall Hospital in Norfolk, at that time a rest and recovery site for patients following surgery, just to play his guitar and sing to my mother while she was in recovery. The whole ward of patients adored it

Terry – The Musical Career I have fond memories of dashing about following his and Ed’s (Eddie Reed) folk music careers as they performed together at local venues.

Terry – The Voluntary Service Overseas Tour I remember Terry eagerly going off to do his VSO tour to Africa. His father and mother were so immensely proud of him. We wrote throughout his time in Botswana, and I would pop around to his parents’ home whenever I received a letter to share updates. Those were the days of the very flimsy blue airmail letters that you had to write on both sides. A nightmare!

Terry – The Return Home When Terry returned home and eventually made the decision to go to college to train as a teacher, it seemed a perfect fit for him. From other people’s comments in their memories of Terry, this was obviously his forte.

Terry – The Love of His Life Dear Sharon ~ Terry shared with me that it was “love at first sight” for him when he first met you and remained so for the rest of his life.

Terry – The Later Years While our contact had been sporadic over the years, with each other’s lives going in different directions and on different continents, it was always good to catch up as and when we could. Terry will always be that incredibly special, never to be forgotten, childhood friend.

Sincere sympathies from my family to yours. Bernadette (née Greene) AKA by Terry as “Titch”

Terry was a lovely gentleman and was always respected by the Weston Coyney Junior School crew. A real star.

Terry is a very special man for so many reasons. We’ve all got so many individual and collective memories of him – a true inspiration with a very naughty side.

I’m so glad to have known you. Such a lovely soul. I hope you know how much you were loved and how well you will be remembered.

You have left memories of tall tales, Norfolk beaches, a passion for condiments, the Faraday cage and so much more. You are the best one-off I have ever met. Rest in peace dearest.

Love,
Pam

I knew Terry from the old Stable Bar folk club in King’s Lynn when he played there in the late 60’s – and a very happy trip to St Mawes, Cornwall around the same time. Lost touch with him but never forgot him. My sympathy to his family.

Where to start with memories of Terry – a truly wonderful, original human.

We first met at the wedding of a mutual friend in the early 1980’s. Terry and Sharon seemed to me immediately the most interesting and engaging people there. They looked beautiful and very cool in colour coded clothes – I think Terry’s bright blue tie matched Sharon’s dungarees. Once we started talking that was it – close friends forever!

And it helped that Joe and Rowan, our daughter – both aged about 3yrs – became firm friends too.

We shared good times and bad times from then on.

Terry was a thoughtful, kind, clever, brilliantly witty and highly talented man. Always curious  and interested in the world.  Proud founding member & permanent secretary of The Bugger It Club – complete with hand-made badges and membership cards. Terry as ever, bringing humour and solace to difficult times.  He was determined to extract the very best he could out of life.
It was our privilege to have known him. Jane

What can I say, what do I write when we’ve just lost the most beautiful man, who leaves behind the most beautiful woman?

A man so kind and funny with gentlest of natures and a heart that warmed the soul. Who loved the simplest things in life, had time for everyone, had a smile that lit up a room and laughter that made the day better, he was simply the coolest guy.

Terry, you were one of our closest and dearest friends for over 45 years, we’ve shared conversations, food (mostly yours) haircuts, memories, and lots and lots of laughter but more importantly we shared our love of family…

You were there at our wedding in 1979 when you danced the first dance with me.

You were there at Olivers wedding in 2017 when you danced the first dance with Natasha.

Jordan shared a flat in Manchester with Joe and Gem and Oliver and Courtney rescued Phoebe from a winter storm in London.

Michael ran the Potteries Marathon in 1988 for Rafe and again 30 years later running the London Marathon in 2018 in support of you.

 You shared a kindred spirit with Courtney with your love of music, and you left us on his birthday, that’s something you’ll share forever

We were there for you and Sharon at the birth of your children Joe, Rafe and Phoebe and now your grandchildren Cindy and Jesse

And we will be there for them all now you’re gone.

We love you and will miss you terribly and as you would say we must

 ‘Just carry on’

  Angela & Michael xx

When someone has gone we scour our memories for funny moments and the stories which make up our shared experiences. After more than 40 years of knowing Terry we realise just how many we have to choose from.

Terry was a unique and wonderful man, charismatic and quirky in equal measure.We consider ourselves so fortunate to count Terry and Sharon as our dearest friends.

We have loved all of our family holidays together; at Wiseman’s Bridge and Lyme Regis when the children were younger – and later just the four of us at Heacham, Howarth, Conway and a cruise to the fjords. These times were filled with laughter, games, eating Terry’s fabulous meals (while using every pan in the kitchen), and marvelling at his capacity to eat his bodyweight in chocolate. And who could forget his “Colonel GaDaffy” rubber duck which won the prize in our annual duck race at Lyme? Alongside our children Lucy and Sam, Terry, Sharon and Phoebe were the only guests and witnesses at our ‘secret’ wedding in 2015. A special day shared with very special people.

Terry was such a kind and generous friend who could turn his hand to anything, a real Mr Fix-it. His shed was an Aladdin’s cave of wood, cables, screws, metal bits and all round total chaos – but he would find just the thing to solve your DIY problem. Visiting our house for coffee, Terry would often disappear, but by the time he left, something had been ‘fixed’ or our tables and chairs left shiny and nourished by one of Terry’s home made wood polishes!

To say that Terry was one of the most courageous people we know would be an understatement. He lived with Parkinson’s for 18 years, yet we never once heard him complain or bemoan the unfairness of it, even during difficult times when he was in pain or feeling low. He was always determined to battle everything the disease could throw at him. We are sure his downright stubbornness contributed to him making sure that he was around to see Joe and Gem settled in Berlin with his adored granddaughter Cindy, and more recently to walk Phoebe down the aisle at her wedding to Ben, and to see her become a mum to Jesse. Terry was so proud of his family and Sharon was the love of his life.

We will miss you so much Terry, your dry sense of humour, the strange things you hid around our house or slipped into our hand as you were leaving (anyone else have monkey nuts and satsumas?), but most of all your humanity, your empathy and your strength of character. We will still talk about you, laugh with Sharon about something silly we just remembered, and forever be grateful you have been part of our lives.

With love, always, Wendy and John Spencer

A devoted family man, fun-loving and a great friend to many.

From Gem, Terry’s daughter-in-law: He has such a beautiful soul. I felt welcome by him from the moment I first met him. I remember Joe’s family showing up at university- and they were so interesting and quirky in their hippy campervan! His dad always wears colourful clothing, I remember that from when I first met him. He teaches me about music, and I always felt that we share a special bond. He always jokes to me under his breath, when nobody else is listening. He is totally eccentric and bold- he doesn’t care about what people think about him- but not in an arrogant way.

He cares deeply about his family, and will go out of his way to help everyone- particularly when it comes to fixing and building things. Though it wasn’t his trade, he was a great carpenter. If you couldn’t find him he would be in his shed, tinkering, with a radio playing in the background. And he’s a great cook, and loves to share that with everyone- cooking feasts for us all every time I go to visit. He is surrounded by people who love him dearly all over the world, his impact is vast. I have only the very happiest memories of him-  I genuinely do not have a single bad word to say about him. To say that he will be deeply missed feels like a ridiculous understatement.

He has had a huge impact on all our lives.

My biggest memory of Terry is how absolutely lovely he always was with children. He just had this way of making them feel really special and on the same level as him. That was especially true with my kids, and even more so with Amelie — he so kindly took the time to nurture her guitar playing and gave his time freely. We’re all very touched by that, and Amelie still is.

But it wasn’t just them, it was the same with me when I was a teenager. He always took the time to talk to me properly, as if what I said really mattered. He made such a genuine effort.

One of the things that’s stuck with me — and it’s resonated even more in the years since his Parkinson’s diagnosis — was a conversation we had when I must have been about 13. He said, “Isn’t it crazy? We should have life the other way around. You should get your pension in your teens and twenties, when you really want to do things… and then work backwards. You shouldn’t be stuck in school when you’re not that bothered about learning. You should be able to study in your fifties and sixties, when you’ve actually got a real interest in it.”

– Bethan, Terry’s niece