When I was growing up in Australia, my mother kept talking about young Nick and what a lovely young man he was. We had emigrated to Australia when I was 3, so I didn’t really remember Nick. After finishing university, I then returned to the UK in the 1970s for postgraduate studies and made sure the first relative I saw was young Nick.  He welcomed me into his family. By then, Nick was married to Maureen and they had three daughters Elaine, Jane and Caroline. I always felt so close to all of them and enjoyed watching the three girls growing into delightful women. During my many visits to the UK after that I stayed with them in Lytham St Anne’s, Beaconsfield and Cuddesdon and I loved being part of the family. Since finally returning permanently to England in 2004, I have continued visiting them and Nick and Maureen visiting me when I was living closer to them. They have always included me in special occasions - weddings, anniversaries and Christmas. Nick and Maureen always made me feel like a close member of the family. It has been wonderful to watch their grandchildren growing up and to see the pride in Nick’s face when he talked about his whole family. 

Mum was right. Nick was a lovely man and she would have been very proud of her nephew. To me he was a wonderful cousin, a friend always there happy to help. 

Christine Oley