Peter Vernon Wakefield (28 May 1942 - 13 Jul 2023)

Peter was born in Nottingham in May 1942. He went to school there and in fact his junior school was on the site of Parry Court. He then went to West Bridgford High School where he became head boy.
From a young age he used to do part time jobs delivering groceries from Baileys on Mapperley top on his bike whizzing down the steep hills of Mapperley.

Peter was always the salesman starting off selling flowers from his Mother’s garden and dressing up his friend Newby Taylor as penny for the guy on Guy Fawkes Night.

He left school at 16 and wanted to be a pilot, but his eyesight wasn’t good enough. He loved languages and wanted to be a holiday rep, but his father insisted that he had a ‘proper job’ and so he went to work in an insurance office, which he hated. He then supplied leather to cobblers in the welsh area and had many stories about getting stuck in snow drifts in Wales in his Morris Minor. After that, he went into the motor trade which he loved and met many lifelong friends on the way.

He met Pat when he was 23 at a party and soon after they were married in 1967 in Rugby. They stayed very happily married for 55 years. They had two children Nigel and Victoria. Peter loved both of his children very much and was always very interested in everything they did and was very proud of them.

Pat and Peter moved to Jasmine Cottage in Calverton after their marriage. Peter was a very sociable man and he became very involved in village life. He loved speaking French and thought that it would be a good idea to link Calverton to a village in France. He created the first twinning in Nottinghamshire with Roy Bliss between Calverton and Longue Jumelles in France which is still in existence today. He was a parish councillor and school governor for a number of years. Peter was also involved in the preservation society in Calverton and is a trustee of the museum. Peter made many good friends in Calverton including the Sunday night crew who regularly met to put the world to rights.

Holidays were important to Peter, and he frequently enjoyed going away with his family and friends, especially the Parsons. For all of those who knew Peter well I am sure you will recall many of these holidays were filled the various incidents and never straight forward.

Another love of his life was music and in particular jazz. Which started back in 1960’s at the Dancing Slipper in West Bridgford. He attended many concerts and gigs up until the last few years and enjoyed going with Brian to the Bonnington in Arnold.

Peter was an avid numismatist and enjoyed collecting and selling coins. He was also very interested in history. He loved cooking but certainly not the washing up. He liked to keep update to date with news and current affairs and enjoyed doing the crossword each day.

Peter had 2 granddaughters, Ella and Milena who are now at the University studying French and History and Landscape Architecture. He absolutely adored his two granddaughters and loved the time he spent with them. He was very proud of both of them and what they had already achieved in their life.

Peter has been a lifelong supporter of Notts County Football club and was really pleased at the end of the season they were promoted back to the football league. He was also really pleased that his son Nigel also followed in his support for Notts County. Peter was a keen follower of cricket.

On retirement Peter and Pat decided to move to Norfolk whilst keeping an apartment at Parry Court so that Peter could continue to pursue his interests in Nottingham.

Over the last couple of years unfortunately Peter’s health declined and although he never complained he found every day over the last year a struggle. He was admitted to hospital and was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease prior to his death. He died peacefully in hospital with his family around him.
Peter was the kindest, generous man, a true gentleman who will be very much missed by all. He was always cheerful, loyal, and optimistic and set a good example to others. His legacy will live forever in our hearts with great love and fondness.