inside people
by Ed Blundell
and modern music but not rock. He reads widely particularly biographies and is currently reading Edna O’ Brien. He has also had a lifelong love of cricket. His pet hates are bad language, poor diction on the radio and television and people who talk over one another.
Alan Proctor Alan Proctor was born between Hayfield and New Mills in September 1929, an only child and the grandson of the sexton of Disley village church. His earliest recollections are of a gas lit house with a shared outdoor toilet. He remembers later as a boy listening to ITMA (It’s That Man Again) a wartime comedy show starring Tommy Handley in 1940 on a vintage battery radio. Alan was a choirboy at All Saints Church and has a keen interest in singing although he now feels his voice is not what it was. He attended All Saints Church of England school in Marple and has lived in the locality all his life, becoming a keen supporter of community activity and developing a fascination for local history. Leaving school at 14, Alan was apprenticed to a local builder and allowed to finish work half an hour early once a week to attend City and Guilds classes at Stockport college. He is married to Joan and they had three children, Andrew, Julie and John and have four grandchildren. Alan and Joan have holidayed frequently in Whitby which he admits is probably his favourite town, after Marple, and for many years they travelled to folk festivals there. Alan’s favourite food is anything spicy and he particularly enjoys Chinese and Indian cuisine. He has broad tastes in music, liking classical
Alan admires people who are prepared to involve themselves in the local community and his hero is Hugh Laurie who he believes is a talented actor and musician. Alan has always been active in community schemes, working as a volunteer in the local park and greatly improving local footpaths for almost 20 years. He has been given three community awards for his efforts. In 1982 with his son Andrew and daughter Julie, the only girl involved, he organised a sponsored parachute jump in support of the Glengarth charity. They raised over £4000, a significant sum at that time. Alan relaxes by watching television and walking and maintains a keen interest in local issues. Local history is one of his passions and he has written many pamphlets about his memories of Marple and Hawk Green. His booklet “Recollections of a Village” is available to read on the Marple website. He recalls when he was eleven, in the Second World War, a German bomber was shot down over Wilkson’s Farm on Torkington Lane. He went with other children to collect bits from the wreckage. Later he researched the crash and learned that the four crew members had parachuted to safety. The day it was shot down was also the 21st birthday of one of the crew! Last Word from Alan. There are fascinating stories about every community. Older people can remember them and should write them down and record them. It would be a great shame if they were lost.
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