The SUDBURY SOCIETY

Caring for the Past and the Future

Passing Away of Betty Bone - June 2008

(This tribute was written by David Burnett, ex-Chairman of the Society.) 

All members of the Society were saddened to hear of Betty’s death – her passing is a very sad event for Amanda and the other close family members and we offer them our deepest sympathy.

Her passing is also a significant event both for the Society and the town. Betty was my immediate predecessor as Chairman of the Society and I am tempted to say that her Chairmanship went back before records began – certainly she had been the dominant force in the Society for many years. Betty remained a very active Committee member after I took over the Chairmanship yet, in a situation in which there was the potential for friction, I can honestly say that she was always immensely supportive both in and out of Committee. She took on the very important role of co-ordinating the Events Committee and members who have enjoyed the varied and interesting events programme over the past years owe her and her team a great debt of gratitude.

Of course the Society was just one part of Betty’s life and even when I knew her she had an extremely full diary, belonging to a wide range of social and charitable groups and societies. Indeed even arranging a date and time to see Betty involved a complicated logistical exercise as she riffled through her diary pages seeking a vacant spot. With some good natured prompting from the Committee she embraced modern technology, putting to shame those in their mere 60s and 70s who are unwilling to accept the challenge. Betty did succeed in unlocking some of the mysteries of e-mails but I fear that putting her engagement diary on her computer would have proved a step too far, even for her!

Betty was a public-spirited and feisty campaigner on a wide range of issues affecting the town such as the western bypass and the need for a proper replacement hospital. I am sure that she would have been in the forefront of the present campaign to have People’s Park registered as a town green and save it for future generations to enjoy. She had been a local JP and spoke her mind without fear or favour as well as writing countless letters and standing outside the Town Hall collecting signatures, all in her battles with ‘officialdom.’

Andrew Phillips has called her ‘a pocket battleship with a smile.’ Indeed she concentrated on the arguments, her campaigning never became personal, and she always had an impish smile and a sense of humour. And some of the historic names given to British battleships do indeed reflect aspects of her character and achievements– ‘Indomitable,’ ‘Indefatigable,’ ‘Formidable’ and ‘Dreadnought.’

Betty was a character - forceful, energetic, passionate, charming. We will all miss her.

(Her funeral was held on Friday 27th June 2008 at 2pm at St. Gregory's Church, Sudbury. The church was packed and our Chairman Andrew Phillips gave a beautifully crafted and affectionate appreciation of Betty's life and work. Subsequently, on Saturday 5th July, relatives and close friends of Betty gathered at Abbas Hall at the invitation of Stefan Kosciusko and his wife Takako to plant a rose in Betty's memory - she had been very active in fighting to prevent housing development along the approach road to the ancient Grade 1 listed Hall.)

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