Sidney Salter (30 Jun 1940 - 15 Sep 2023)

In loving memory of Sidney Salter who sadly passed away on 15th September 2023 aged 83 years.

EULOGY
Sidney John Salter

We honour, celebrate and pay loving tribute to the wonder of a man called Sidney John Salter. “Sid” who was, and is, our Dad, Grandad, friend, and loyal, wise & thoughtful counsellor.

• Thank-you to all those who have supported us here today, and to those who were unable to join us.
• Every Christmas Day at 9pm Sid raised this toast: “To absent friends and family” It will not come as a surprise to you to hear, that the drink Sid would use to raise this toast, would be a generous shot of Navy rum – possibly diluted with a small measure of Coke?
• So where did this great mountain of a man spring from?
• Sidney John Salter was born On 30th June 1940, in Whimple, Devon to Elizabeth Salter (nee Inglis) and her husband, Bernard John Salter (who was known as Jack).
• A few years later, Sid was joined by a sister, also called Elizabeth.
• Sid grew up in Whimple, Devon, then Suckley, Worcestershire, and later in Long Itchington, Warwickshire.
• Sid showed great potential for art and was set to go to art school in Worcester. However, his art teacher would not sign Sid’s permission form. Instead, the art teacher often sent Sid out of lessons to stand in the hallway. So, Sid took it upon himself to return the favour by playing truant and scrumping the apples & strawberries from the art teacher’s allotment.
• Whenever Sid walked down the lane from his house he would delight in the wild flowers and in particular, the wild strawberries – perhaps he was reliving his childhood thievery?
• When you received handwritten correspondence from Sid it may well have been written in capital letters; his default writing. However, Sid would make an exception when very important occasions required – he would painstakingly write in lowercase, making considerable effort to show the recipient how much he cared.
• As a teenager, Sid would cycle for many miles – he had an enviable pair of very strong legs. He cycled from Suckley in Worcester to Weston Super Mare, and back, in a day (over 150 miles). His family did not believe him, so the next time he went, he sent a postcard.
• Sid left school at 15 with no qualifications. A few days after his 16th birthday he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a junior rating.
• Once Navy, Always Navy is a very apt tagline to describe Sid. He made many long-lasting friendships in his naval profession; he thoroughly enjoyed his role as a stoker.
• Sid’s favourite trick was to make black smoke billow from the ship’s funnel – this was his trademark – black smoke meant Sid Salter was on duty. This naughty prank earned him several minor reprimands – however, none of them discouraged Sid from displaying his mischievous sense of humour throughout his career.
• During his naval service of 13 years Sid honed his card playing skills and indulged his love of reading. Sid passed on his love of card playing and reading to his family and friends.
• When you next drive over the river Tamar from Cornwall to Devon take a good look at the large hill to the left of the Tamar Bridge toll booths. This is a Navy Defence Munitions Base. As a very young junior rating Sid was posted to sentry duty there, by himself, with just a gas mask for company. At lunchtime a colleague bought him lunch of soup and hard tack biscuits. Sid soon learnt to put his biscuits in the soup to soften them up.
• On return to camp that night Sid remarked how monotonous his day had been – an older colleague advised him to secrete reading books in his gas mask holder instead of his gas mask. From then onwards Sid would volunteer for this markedly tedious posting and he spent many happy days reading on that hillside. Sid had his priorities in the right order.
• When Sid was 18 he was home on leave in Long Itchington, at The Two Boats Inn, run by his parents. One Sunday afternoon Sid gallantly came to the rescue (or, was begrudgingly manoeuvred into it) when he stood in as a double date on a bicycle ride. Who was his date?
• Margaret. He fell in love with her. Margaret on the other hand thought Sid was rather rude; when they met he was laid on the sofa, drunk, listening to a record of Louis Armstrong playing a funeral dirge.
• After months of courtship and long-distance love letter writing, Sid proposed to Margaret, she declined, saying he was drunk. A while later Sid proposed again. Again, Margaret turned him down – the reason? He was drunk – is there a pattern forming here?
• On 29th February 1960 whilst on holiday in Loch Lomond, Margaret proposed to Sid (Margaret seized her opportunity on leap year day to use tradition to her advantage)
• Sid & Margaret were happily married on 19th August 1961. When you are at the pub with us later, you will see a picture of them on their wedding day.
• Sid explored the world during his service with the navy, although his heart always remained firmly with his family. When he came home from an 18-month deployment he was greeted by the shared shock expressions from his 9 month old daughter Kathleen and the family dog – neither of them had seen this big, bearded man before.
• The beard never lasted long as Margaret also ensured that it was promptly shaved off.
• Margaret & young Kathleen joined Sid when he was posted to Singapore, where their second daughter, Wendy, was born.

• Sid was ahead of his time – he wanted to be present when his children were born. When his eldest two daughters were born, Sid was at sea. When their third daughter, Nadine, was born, the midwifery profession was not as equality minded as Sid and he was shooed off the ward. Missing the birth of his daughters was one of the few things in his life that made Sid cross. When John was born, the midwives again suggested that he leave the ward; Sid was having none of it – he held Margaret’s hand and welcomed their son, John into the world first-hand.
• Sid was a trailblazer for equality; he taught numerous members of his family to drive, insisted his children work hard and pay their way. He treated all people fairly & equitably in all circumstances and expected the same of others.
• Whilst still serving in the navy Sid returned to the family home in Leamington Spa and decided that the wanted to install central heating in the house. Sid borrowed a book from the library and taught himself how to be a heating engineer. Sid had found his calling; he left the Navy in 1969 and began his next career of heating and plumbing engineer. Sid would say that he always enjoyed going to work – even after he had ostensibly retired. A ‘phone call to enquire about his whereabouts would elicit the cheeky response: “I’m just going out to do a job for one of my little old ladies” This from a man who was into his eighties himself!
• Mind you, Sid handpicked the clients who he would work for – if they made a good cup of tea accompanied by a slice, or two, of homemade cake, then they would rise to the top of the list.
• Sid’s plumbing knowledge, experience and aptitude landed him a contract with the Government – the destination? The Falkland Islands. Sid loved the wild and sometimes hostile environment. Margaret accompanied him together with their son John where they made their family home for several years.
• Sid always maintained his relationship with the sea; in the Falkland Islands Sid volunteered with the sea cadets. He maintained a lifelong active membership with the Royal Naval association and the Royal British Legion.
• In everyday life, quietly, and without pomp or ceremony, Sid embodied the Legion motto: “Service not self” Examples are:
• Donated more than 50 pints of blood both at home and abroad
• Charitable donations to RNLI and Cornwall Air Ambulance
• Volunteered with the probation service
• Helped disabled people discover the joy of camping through their involvement with the League of Friends
• Together with Margaret, welcomed numerous foster children into their home
• Staunch supporters of the Guides and Scout movements – always the first to arrive to set up camp and always the last to help break camp
• A member of the WRVS with Margaret
• Mother & baby tent at Royal Cornwall show
• Stagehand with Coventry gang show and Holsworthy amateur theatre
• President for many years of the Association of Plumbing & Heating engineers, Midland branch
• Chairman and welfare officer of the Launceston RNA
• Chairman of the Holsworthy British Legion
• A member of various gardening clubs
• A churchwarden both in the UK and the Falkland Islands. Sid enjoyed this role in Balsall Common – the vicar did not like wine, so Sid’s duty was to finish off the remains of the Communion wine.
• Sid had a natural affinity for babies and animals. He and Margaret would often rescue and look after animals such as the puppy in the litter bin, a pigeon that they nursed back to health and released, a budgerigar and a zebra finch. One family cat was treated to pipets of warm milk and Navy rum to retore it to health from cat flu. A family goldfish made it to 7 years of age - Sid and Margaret found the fish lying on its’ side, so they sat up all night manually swimming the fish around its’ tank until it came to its’ senses.
• Sid and Margaret were both ‘hands on’ parents, grandparents, and foster parents. No-one could have better role models. They encouraged their family to explore the world and its’ opportunities, without placing any expectations on them and whilst providing a solid scaffold of love and mutual respect.
• To keep track of the all the children that wandered in and out of their home over the decades, Sid would affectionately greet them all in the following manner: “You alright Fred?” If he called you Fred, you were truly honoured.
• Sid had a great love of Scrabble, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku, and anagrams. He taught us to approach these mind tasks with care and thought. You were given a pencil to solve these mysteries, so that you could make mistakes and learn from them.
• He also had a very fond penchant for all things sci-fi. He loved Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Blake Seven, Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy (listen carefully to the exit music today)
• Sid loved knowledge and to learn; he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of topics ranging from bird song to what the number of toes on a dragon represents in different cultures.
• Sid embraced each different culture, and nationality that he experienced. He actively encouraged his children, and grandchildren, to do the same, especially to sample the local beers and cuisine.
• Sid was incredibly laidback; so laid back he was practically horizontal. He was a great listener; it was a pleasure to be in his company – he leaves behind him an unfillable hole where once stood a wonder of a man; gentle and warm hearted, stoic, and witty, wise and so utterly loved and respected. He will always be with us – as his son John said in Sid’s final days – even if the whole family aren’t in the same room as each other, they are inexplicably connected by mind & soul no matter where they may be.
• Did you hear the music on the way into the field today? It is the theme tune called “Test Drive” from How to Train your Dragon – one of Sid’s favourite films. The music is uplifting, full of life and fun – so was Sid.