Raymond Harry Butcher (23 Apr 1931 - 18 Nov 2015)

In loving memory of Raymond Harry Butcher who sadly passed away on 18th November 2015, at Peterborough City Hospital, aged 84 years. Beloved husband of the late Jean, loving father to Stephen, David and Andrew, a much loved grandad to Scott, Hayley Jean, Rosie, Harry, Alex and Holly.

Reflections of Ray

Raymond Harry Butcher, or Ray, or Butch, as he was variously known was born in Norwich on 23rd April1931 to Ada and Harry Butcher. Ray was the eldest of 5 children with three sisters, Janet, Jill and Sheila and a brother Dennis.

Ray’s first job, as befits the family name, was as a butcher’s boy and that is where he undoubtedly picked up his skill in carving the Sunday joint which his eldest grandson so fondly remembers as “Grandad’s job” whenever he went to visit or came to stay.

At his earliest opportunity Ray joined the RAF in 1948 at the tender age of 17, learning his trade and he then spent 30 happy years plying his trade as a carpenter and rising through the ranks to become a Flight Sergeant before his first heart attack in 1975 cut short that career progression.

In his lifetime Ray actually survived 3 heart attacks and had a triple bypass operation in 1984. The third attack in 2013 led to him being fitted with a pacemaker. Having repeatedly refused to use any modern technology like computers or mobile phones its ironic that it took a heart attack to get him his own personal one!

Ray enjoyed tours of duty in Malta and Cyprus and was based at a number of UK stations including RAF West Malling, RAF Binbrook, RAF Brampton. It was possibly at RAF Chessington where he was happiest and where he received commendations for his work helping disabled servicemen from all three services rehabilitate and also for developing new tools and techniques for those service men that had lost the use of limbs.

Ray was also renowned wherever he was based for providing kindling wood to friends and elderly neighbours scavenged from the off cuts in his carpentry workshops. These weren’t just any old lumps of kindling but carefully cut and measured 3/4inch square by 9inch long kindling sticks, as he used to say “if a job is worth doing it is worth doing well”

Ray moved on from Chessington to RAF St Athan in South Wales which is where he coined one of his many other well used and at times well worn sayings “there is only one good thing about Wales and that is the road out!” - Sorry if we any have any Welsh friends here today.

The RAF is also where Ray probably gained his passion for routine; always early to rise, meals at the same time every day, hair cut every three weeks, always remembering birthdays for the family and extended family and friends, always ready and waiting to leave the house ages before he needed to be, always worrying that there wouldn’t be a parking space! - It would probably have made him smile that he has priority parking today!

The RAF is responsible for Ray’s passion for military music and particularly bagpipe music. He actually chose the music for today himself and left it for the family to find after his death, along with a very personal letter that talked about his love for the family.

Ray’s love for the Armed Forces will always be remembered by the family and particularly the grandchildren who endured the annual enforced, but always enjoyed, visits to the Royal Tournament, the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and the repeated video playing’s of the Edinburgh Tattoo.

But the biggest part that the RAF played in Ray’s life, is that it is where he met the love of his life and the mother of his three boys, Jean. Like Ray, Jean had left her home in Newcastle as soon as she could and joined the Womens Royal Air Force, the WRAF’s. Ray and Jean were married in 1955 and became the incredibly proud parents of their three boys. Ray and Jean had 33 years of happy and devoted time with each other before Jean was taken far too early by cancer in 1988 aged only 52.

Jean’s best friend in Newcastle, Aunty Cathie, was like a sister to her and Ray. After losing Jean, Ray kept in regular contact with Cathie and in keeping with his habit for routine, could be heard phoning her every Sunday to check all was ok.

Ray left the RAF in 1977 and returned to his home city of Norwich where he found work as a general carpenter before returning to the world of helping patients rehabilitate and taking up a role found for him by his brother Dennis at Hellesdon Hospital.

Ray and Jean then became the proud owners of the family dog, Ranta, a brown standard poodle that could twist Ray round its little finger – one hula hoop for Ray and one for Ranta!

While Ray was enjoying life in the RAF his three sisters Janet, Jill and Sheila all met and married American Airmen and emigrated to the USA. On his retirement in 1997 Ray enjoyed three wonderful months visiting the sisters and their families and learning all about the American way of life - and discovering wrangler jeans – his favourite mode of wear and always with an impeccably ironed crease down the front! We believe on his last trip to the USA he came back with at least half a dozen pairs! Ray was always active and one of the many stories from that first trip to America was the time he helped pull down an old barn at sister Janet’s farm in Tennessee, despite the intense heat Ray was determined to complete the job and did so with his usual efficiency and good humour.

Retiring at the age of 65 Ray couldn’t remain inactive so took up a part time handyman role at NORCE which is where he met Marjorie who became a good friend and companion. Ray and Marje had many happy years together and travelled all around the world either with their NORCI holiday group of friends or by themselves to visit his sisters in America and his brother in Spain. On all of these holidays Ray would be found with a video camera seemingly permanently fixed to his eye recording the highlights of the holiday. Those recordings would come out every time any of the family went to visit and be enjoyed time, …after time, …after time! And if they were being watched at Ray’s house on a Saturday evening it would be while dining on sweet and sour chicken, Ray was definitely a creature of habit!

Ray was a devoted Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Father in Law, Grandfather, Uncle and Friend. He was always prepared to lend a hand to anyone, be that using his carpentry talents doing odd jobs for friends or supporting his children and their families as they grew up and established homes of their own. Today the family enjoy many things in their homes- “that Grandad made”.

At heart Ray was a true family man, never happier than when he was with his grandchildren, always up first so they could come down and watch Tom and Jerry cartoons with him and eat pink wafer biscuits; taking them on excursions; or just simply playing with them when they were little.

As well as remembering Ray as the completely selfless, caring, loyal, honest, calm, kind, and compassionate man that he was, it is the quirky sayings that the close family will remember: “Always obey the last order”, “I’m as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth”, “I will pinch your tail off”, “Oh dear, how sad, never mind”

So as we say goodbye and thank him for the love and example he has given to us all, I will use one of his favorite sayings to say Thank You Ray, Rest in Peace, God Bless

Ray on behalf of everyone – “I rest my case”