Robert Geoffrey Birditt and Joyce Birditt nee Mills
Robert Geoffrey Birditt was born in Coventry on 6 August 1924, one of the three children of Frederick Oscar Birditt and his wife Frances Ellen nee Evans. On 2 March 1946 he married Joyce Mills, whom he had met when he was evacuated to Stoneleigh during the war, and from then onwards became very much a "Stoneleigh person".
He was Vice-Chairman of the Parish Council on three occasions and Chairman for four consecutive years from 1981 - 1985. One of his great interests there was Planning - taking particular responsibility for issues affecting the Stoneleigh Ward. He joined the Trustees of the Dame Alice Leigh Almshouses in 1983 and played a full role on the committee, particularly during their refurbishment.
He and Joyce had two sons, and lived in Stoneleigh Close. He died suddenly on 17 December 1993, aged 69.
Joyce Barbara Mills was "Born in Stoneleigh and every inch a Stoneleigh person" as extracts from this tribute, written by her family, show:
The only child of Gladys and Harry Mills (
B 7.5) she was born on 21 October 1924, on the Birmingham Road in a house backing onto 'the Yard'. Although an only child she & her cousin Rhoda, who was also born in Stoneleigh, were like sisters, throughout their lives, until Rhoda passed away in 1999. All her school life was spent at Stoneleigh School. It was when she was at school she joined the church choir and she remained in the choir until her late 70's when it was disbanded.
Trained as a shorthand typist, she worked in Coventry and before the end of the war was a secretary at the Armstrong Whitworth aircraft factory at Baginton Airport. She and Bob got married in 1946 by which time Bob was in the Navy, but it was not too bad as he was stationed in Rugby! Julian and Gary were born within the next few years.
She joined the Stoneleigh Mothers' Union and became their chairman or 'Enrolling Member' for about 25 years enjoying organising guest speakers.
She and Bob became interested in antiques and she had a job for a couple of days a week at an antique dealer in Warwick, working there until she was 75. She particularly enjoyed the paperwork and accounts using her experience from her early days at work.
After Bob's death, eventually she could no longer live in the house in Stoneleigh and finally moved to a retirement flat in Kenilworth. She continued going to go to services at Stoneleigh Church which she loved. Because of her health the last year of her life was spent in a care home and hospital but fortunately she ended her life in a lovely nursing home where the staff could not have been kinder.
She died, a proud grandmother of five, on 18 March 2011 at the age of 86, and was buried at Stoneleigh on 30 March.