TUESDAY last, September 4, saw the funeral of one of the valley’s most influential personalities of the last several decades, a community activist of the first order. Peter Game’s health had deteriorated most significantly over a relatively short period during the last year, prompting a comment from Malcolm Blanksby “that if Peter could no longer do what he wished to do, then he would not have wanted to hang around”.

He and Beryl, after living a long time in Marlow Bottom, moved in fairly recent years just over the county boundary to Chalgrove in Oxfordshire, to be close to their son, Andrew. It was in Chalgrove’s veritable gem of a church (worth a visit) that his funeral service was conducted.

Peter came from the Midlands originally, before his parents came south. The family’s engaging biography, delivered by the Vicar of Chalgrove, pointed out that his first school, until the age of nine, was a High School for Girls – his local primary school had been transplanted as part of the war-time security arrangements for children, to share premises with an all girls’ establishment. His post-school studies led him to become an electrical engineer.

After several years in industry, he joined IBM, where I first met him, being his mentor during his initial training in computers.

Somehow we both ended up in Marlow Bottom, no more than a quarter of a mile apart, and we both remained with IBM until retirement.

Even before he finished his working life, Peter was a vigorous participant in local community affairs, as was Beryl, being greatly involved in the Playing Field and the Rose Carnival and other valley organisations. Peter, and his son Andrew, designed and built the first permanent and coordinated set of flat-pack stalls for the annual fete.

He did much of the fencing maintenance and rebuilding work around the children’s play area. He and his close carpentry friend and neighbour completely rebuilt the dilapidated public benches at various points along the main road, and constructed amusement (and fundraising) equipment for the Rose Carnival.

But he was not just the artisan who fixed things, he was very much involved with the committees that helped shape and direct the community, including being a governor of Burford School. Most importantly, he did all these things with the lightest of touch and, as far as I can recall, without provoking any of the friction that often mars the efforts of the dedicated activist in such contexts. He was forthright, generous of spirit and opinion and honest in all his inter-relationships. His particular natural ability for analysis of a situation made him formidable at fulfilling a complex project.

The valley has much to thank Peter for, from the 70s and into the new century.

Moreover, it was clear from Tuesday’s eulogies, that he had become an equally respected and active member of Chalgrove society. I was amused by a resident who, while working in her front garden, clearly recognised me as a stranger. As I passed by, back to my car, parked in a residential road away from church or hostelry, she greeted me and commented I had probably been to Peter Game’s funeral. She hoped the family were bearing up well. He was well thought of.

It would be fanciful to claim that neither Marlow Bottom, nor Chalgrove, could have progressed without Peter’s influence, but that he contributed to a much more fulfilling community for the rest of us, in a big way, is indisputable.

I’ll leave the last comment to Malcolm who said “Peter was a great man in every sense of the word and did so much for the local community in so many different ways, not just in Marlow Bottom, but also in Chalgrove.”

If you would like to commemorate a revered citizen, nothing would have pleased him more than a donation to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust.

That would be to the advantage of both communities.