And a late goodbye to Gilbert
While I am writing of old stagers who have passed on, the death of Gilbert Beazley two or three months ago, was never adequately marked.
Gilbert was a predecessor of mine as Mayor of Bedford. In fact he has a place in mayoral history. At the 1974 local government reorgansiation Bedford initially decided not to apply for borough status to placate the former members of Bedford Rural District Council who had been dragooned kicking and screaming into the borough area as it now is. The mayoralty was reduced to a toy town mayor for the old borough area which was purely urban.
After a couple of years it was decided to seek the restoration of borough status which was done at a time when Gilbert was chairman of the council so he became the first mayor of the borough as now constituted.
Gilbert was a very clever operator and networker. Sometimes his pronouncements were a bit delphic and required him to amplify what he was saying so that lesser minds, such as mine, got his drift. He was particularly alert to the meaning of changes in the transport system.
Although not from farming stock, he acquired Bartlemas Farm in Pavenham. During the golfing boom some years ago he converted part of it to a golf course although I suspect it was one of his few duff business decisions. He was also an estate agent, mainly for rural properties and was involved in many aspects of rural life. I last saw him when I went to Pavenham on the first of my rural rounds earlier this year.
His family was determined to have a private funeral and to have as little fuss as possible, which doesn’t surprise me because Gilbert loathed fuss. I always thought he looked uncomfortable in mayoral roabes. It was one of the factors which made me determined never to wear them.
So belatedly, I salute the memory of the present Borough of Bedford’s first mayor.