Local People

Sue Burkill

Educator and lover of travel

Sue Burkill’s life falls pretty neatly into two parts. Born in Singapore, she spent her early childhood in the Far East and by the time she was 21, had moved house around 30 times! ‘Until I went to university, I’d been to fi ve primary schools and four secondary schools, which was pretty unusual by any standards,’ said Sue. The extensive travelling was due to the fact her father, an offi cer in the Gurkhas, was adamant his two daughters should not be packed off to boarding school until absolutely necessary. Although these days a ‘colonial’ lifestyle might be frowned upon, Sue remembered growing up with great fondness: ‘It was a stunning life really, you lived in the most beautiful places, we went swimming nearly every holiday on beaches with no-one on them, we had gardens with banana trees - it was wonderful.’ Her earliest days were spent in a Kampong (the Malay word for little village) house on the river, with the water fl owing underneath the stilted building. The family lived in a variety of places in Malaya, each posting interspersed with a six month period back in the UK, making the journey by troopship. Then came Thailand and Hong Kong, before a major move to Canada. ‘That was a magical time,’ said Sue, who experienced the thrill of skiing every weekend in winter, and extended summer trips travelling from Canada through the United States to Mexico - before the next posting back to Borneo. Sue’s lifestyle was brought down to earth with a bump when she attended a girls’ boarding school in the UK to study for A-levels. ‘We had these horrendous uniforms, and these awful hockey skirts that showed off your red knees because it was so cold - I just got my head down and worked,’ said Sue, recalling the ‘lollipop’ fl ights back to the Far East twice a year, when the savvy children of military personnel would make life miserable for the air hostesses assigned to look after them. ‘Some of these kids had been doing these fl ights since they were six - the hostesses must have hated it!’ Sue’s hard work paid off and she was off ered a place at

Cambridge University where she studied geography. She subsequently trained as a teacher in Bristol, then taught in Southampton, where her husband Peter, whom she met while doing her A-levels, was doing his PhD. A job off er for Peter at Plymouth Marine Laboratory bought the couple to Plymouth and a council fl at in Whitleigh, before their fi nal move to Shaugh Prior, and a near derelict barn that she and Peter have restored. They brought up their two sons there and have lived happily for the last 40 years in the quiet Dartmoor village that’s a million miles from the sights and sounds of the Far East. As for Sue’s school teaching “ It was a stunning life really, you lived in the most beautiful places, career, this took a slightly diff erent path when she was head-hunted by the college now known as we went swimming nearly every Marjon and became involved in holiday on beaches with no-one on teacher training, work she found them, we had gardens with banana deeply satisfying. ‘One of the things I really loved trees - it was wonderful. ” was building people’s self esteem. Many students there felt they were failures because they hadn’t got into the big universities, and a lot were mature women with kids, who had little confi dence in their academic abilities - it was very rewarding.’ Sue later became head of educational development at Plymouth University and fi nally retired after a time leading the staff development unit at Exeter University - following which she completed a PhD in educational leadership, attaining her doctorate in 2017. While Sue may be retired, she’s certainly not taking a rest after a busy professional life. A dog lover with two beautiful Springer spaniels, Pilot and Humbug, she

Sue’s parents (inset left) and one of the many Far Eastern homes she spent her childhood in.

volunteers for Woodside Animal Sanctuary and is keen to help the charity any way she can. ‘I absolutely love it,’ said Sue, who’s also set up a village book club, joined an art group, and is a long standing member of the parish council. She and Peter still love to travel. Sue, who spent three weeks volunteering in a Tibetan refugee camp in Nepal, paid for by winning a national education award, said Bhutan was top of her bucket list. ‘There’s a gentleness about the Bhuddist culture that I love,’ she said. n

Jane Honey

Fulfilled living in later life

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David Crowley

An offi cer and a gentleman

Coming from a naval family - David’s grandfather was one of the fi rst ‘up funnel down screw’ engineers on late 19th century ships and his father served in the Royal Navy in both world wars - it was inevitable he would join the ‘senior service’. David was born in Malta in 1935 - the family later returned to Plympton but in 1939, his mother, sister Yvonne, who was 14 years older, and David left England on what was to be his fi rst worldwide trip! Following his father’s ship, they travelled to Hong Kong via Ceylon. When war was declared with Japan in 1940, David and his mother were evacuated to Australia via the Philippines, leaving Yvonne to be married in Hong kong before it fell to the Japanese. She was interned there as a prisoner for the rest of the war. Late in 1943, David and his mother left Australia and returned to England, fi rstly in convoy across the Pacifi c to the US and through The States by train to New York. They then sailed the war-torn Atlantic in a freight aircraft carrier, encountering ‘little incidents’ with German U-boats along the way! After leaving boarding school in Dorset, David joined the Royal Navy, serving as a supply offi cer, (now known as logistics offi cers). In 1954 he met his wife Jilyan, known as J, on a blind date in the romantic setting of Leicester Square Underground Station - they married four years later. Within a week of marrying, David left on the troopship SS Nevasa for his next appointment in Hong Kong - J managed to get an ‘indulgence passage’ on the Nevasa from Gibraltar, but that meant she could be disembarked at any of the ports en route to Hong Kong and be treated as a single, unmarried passenger. However, the ship’s captain heard that a bride of just a week was onboard... David remembered: ‘He said “She could get stuck in Aden or somewhere if the ship has to embark more personnel?” He gave us a fi rst class cabin and an Indian servant to go with it, from whom she learned how to tie a sari properly! We had a month’s honeymoon while we travelled to Hong Kong, courtesy of Her Majesty!’ Having traversed the world before the age of eight, he completed a second ‘hectic and very busy’ world tour on HMS Euryalus, serving as a fl ight deck offi cer as well as supply offi cer, visiting such tiny specks in the ocean as St Helena. The ship also visited various ports in Australia. While serving with the Navy, David qualifi ed as a barrister in 1964, ultimately becoming director of legal services in the Royal Australian Navy in Canberra, after serving as secretary to the Commander British Forces in Malta, and returning to England in

The troop carrier SS Nevasa

1978 to be the Fleet Legal Adviser. Retiring from active service in 1981, he was invited to become a partner with law fi rm Woollcombe Yonge. By this time David and J were living in Sparkwell at the family home, Fursdon House. ‘My parents bought it from the Coryton family of Pentillie Castle - Lord Coryton always thought Fursdon was a bit small!’ laughed David, showing me a painting of Lady Coryton’s horse, Dinah, given to him by her groom several years ago. David left Woollcombe Yonge after about fi ve years to become administrator and fundraiser for St Luke’s Hospice, while still practising as a solicitor from home, assisted by his right-hand woman, J, who looked after his offi ce. He was the appeal director and project manager for the building of the hospice at Turnchapel, working closely with its medical director at the time, Dr Sheila Cassidy. “ He gave us a fi rst class cabin and an Indian servant to go with it, from whom she Despite having a very busy professional life, Sparkwell means a huge amount to him and he has been heavily involved with the learned how to tie a sari community for many years. Along properly! We had a month’s with David Rutledge, he helped honeymoon while we travelled to Hong Kong, raise the funds for the parish hall, which opened in 1984, and was a chairman of the organisation for ten courtesy of Her Majesty! ” years. He’s also a parochial church councillor, school governor, trustee and still organises the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal in the fi ve villages and hamlets of Sparkwell parish. He’s been a stalwart of Sparkwell Fair committee and Fursdon has played host to many successful fundraising events for local good causes thrown by David and J. This charming and modest man sadly lost his soulmate, J, after 62 years of lost his soulmate, J, after 62 years of marriage last summer. A memorial to marriage last summer. A memorial to her will be raised in the house garden her will be raised in the house garden for which he still cares himself. for which he still cares himself. n Jane Honey

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