Brian Smith (5 Jul 1936 - 22 Nov 2022)

In loving memory of Brian Smith who sadly passed away on 22nd November 2022 aged 86.

Brian's funeral will be held on Monday 12th December, 12pm at St. Helena's Church, Austerfield, followed by a wake at The Ship Inn, Newington (nearby) at 1.15pm onwards.
All welcome, but please let me know if you are coming to the wake, to ensure we cater for all and give my dad a great send off.

Brian was a resident of mainly Bawtry since marrying my mother, Kathleen (who passed away in 1997), in 1959 after leaving the army (he was a corporal in the Catering Corps attached to the Parachute Regiment) and settling here. They had 2 sons, my late brother, Andrew, and myself; along with 5 grandchildren and a great grandchild on the way.

Mum was a child of Bawtry (Tomlinson family clan, but called Golightly when Gran married) and used to work in the Coop, where she met my dad when he arrived in Bawtry, after being demobbed; and he was looking for his parents, who had moved from Doncaster to Bawtry but he didn't know where. Mum helped him find them via their Coop number. They'd bought the B&B next to the White Hart on Swan Street, literally around the corner from the Coop. He asked her out that night and ... married her within 2 years.

Dad and mum lived in Central Drive, Bawtry, initially with mum's mum, Gran (Francis May Golightly), till they got their own council house in Central Drive and then I came along in 1964. Then they moved to a new house on Moor Top Road, Harworth in 1966, near to Duggie Brown (of the Comedians fame) and had my brother Andrew in 1967. They moved back to Bawtry on Grange Avenue in 1973 and moved to a new house in Austerfield, South View in 1985.

Dad initially worked as the Mess Manager at RAF Bawtry's Officer's Mess, then various Hotels as a Chef/Manager and then went onto work at the Nylon Spinners in town, then he had a long career as an Insurance Inspector for Liverpool Victoria & General Accident; and then during the miners strike of the mid 80's, he became a Regional Bank Manager for the TSB (Trust) till his early retirement in 1990 - he wanted to look after my mum, who had suffered heart problems and had had a severe stroke.

Brian was a keen Darts and Dominos player for the pubs in the Bawtry/Bircotes/Harworth area - dad even beating John Lowe, the world champion darts player at the time, in a 3 match play off for a £100 bet.
He and my mum were well known in Bawtry in the pub social scene that resulted in us attending multiple parties and going on joint holidays with Bawtry families, to mainly Guernsey.

Dad was always a jolly, extroverted character and a joker - he'd speak to everybody he met and will be missed by all who knew him...

RIP dad / grandad xxx