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IN MEMORIAM
Alan LOVELACE Died April 2006 AAS
Arborfield Intake 51A
It is
with the deepest regret that I forward this message concerning Alan Lovelace
of 51A, as originally sent to Reg (51A) and Vera HARPER: “I did not get too
involved with Alan’s soldier stories but I hate to inform you that Alan died of
a heart attack while we were in Please
join with Maggie and I in extending our heartfelt sympathy to Alan's wife
Julie and to their extended family. Alan
and I never met in person, because I was entering the AAS as he was leaving
it. Nevertheless, because of the many yarns that Reg HARPER has passed on to
me about the misadventures of himself and the redoubtable Alan, I feel as if
I knew him very well. Reg has been hit quite hard by your sad news and is
mourning the loss of someone who meant a great deal to him at a very
vulnerable point in his life. All of us Arborfielders will feel a sense of
loss, knowing that we are one less in number as the roll is called. Alan was
one of those truly very precious "characters", whose presence
amongst us young boys made the burdens of our chosen career that much easier
to cope with. Every intake produced one or two such cheeky urchins and life
would have been so dull and repetitive without them. Please know that there
is a legion of us that share your sorrow and sense of loss. (Gerry PECK) (and) It's
always a very sad time when we learn of the passing of one of our Arborfield
family. This time we say goodbye to Alan Lovelace 51A who died of a heart
attack whilst in (Trevor STUBBERFIELD) (and) Alan
was really getting into the old boy soldier days, he had just sent off for
his S.A.S. plaque. I know that he would have been proud of the funeral we put
on for him, it was very tasteful and understated. A female vicar
delivered the service, my son and I christened her ‘the Vicar of
Dibley’ as she is a large lady, but she is a lovely warm person and did a
wonderful tribute to Alan. He is buried just up the road from where I
live, in a nice village churchyard in a part of the country he adored. He
loved life, every second of it, and in my times of grief it helps me to know
that he died in a way that he would have wanted to go - quickly and whilst on
an adventure abroad. The
funeral service was so nice and the sun was out, it was so sad but in a way
so nice too. I asked that they play Matt Monro singing “Born Free” when
they took Alan into the church, it summed him up for he was a Matt Monro fan,
and when they took him out of the church I asked them to play “The
Skye Boat Song” - speed bonnie boat, etc. Skye was one of his favourite
places, and he sang the song as a member of the boys’ church choir at
school. During the service there was a Christian version of the Skye
Boat Song which fitted really well, and when asked which hymns I would like
it was easy, “Onward Christian Soldiers”. Few people may know that “All
Things Bright and Beautiful” was written about Dunster in I
have three children, a girl and two boys; Alan had two daughters by different
wives. I was his fourth wife and he used to jokingly refer to me as his
‘current wife’. We were together almost eleven years; it would have been our
tenth wedding anniversary the week after he died. I miss him every
moment of every day but know that they will almost certainly be the most
interesting, exciting and fun days of my life. Alan really was my soul
mate and he certainly was one of a kind. It is nice to know that so
many other people found Alan an inspiration in life. (Julie MASSEY)
[With
grateful thanks to Reg HARPER (51A), Gerry PECK (53B), and Trevor
STUBBERFIELD (52A) for providing this information]
Alan recorded a Memoire for the web site and it can be
accessed from this link
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