Eddie Hudson (27 Jun 1931 - 25 Feb 2022)

Eddie was born in Hamburg, Germany on 27 June 1931.

His parents, Willi Hess and Olga Barsdorf, met on a ship whilst crossing from the USA to Germany. His parents married in 1930 when it was still legal for non-jews to marry someone of jewish descent. Eddie had a step sister (Ingrid) from his mother's first marriage who was 11 years older than him.

At the time of his birth, Eddie's father was working in London as a journalist and he had the foresight to get his family out of Germany before war broke out. None-the-less, his parents were interned in separate camps on the Isle of Man after war was declared. Eddie went to join his mother there and quite enjoyed spending time on the island as there was no school and hence no bullying of him by the other pupils and he was able to explore the nearby beach and rock pools.

The family left the Isle of Man when Willi joined the Pioneer Corp and it was at this time that the family name was changed from Hess to Hudson to protect their identity should they be captured or the UK invaded. The family spent time on the road moving between army camps according to Willi's postings but eventually settled back in Golders Green, London after the war.

After school, Eddie studied at Hendon Technical College from where he went to work for Crosse and Blackwell as a clerk in the orders department. His job was to check that the recipients of orders had sufficient points for the goods they had ordered as rationing was still in place. Eddie recalls that on hot days, they had to request permission from the boss to take off their jackets.

In 1949, Eddie was called up to do his National Service with the RAF. Despite the rigour of the service, this was a positive experience for him as he made what became life long friends. By this stage he spoke english fluently and without a foreign accent so it was easier to hide his German heritage that had caused him to be bullied at school. Eddie and Davina continued to meet up with his RAF friends for many years and still correspond with those who are alive today.

In 1956, Eddie met Davina at a dance in Chelsea, London. The story goes that Davina was trying to give a boy who was interested in her the slip so she asked Eddie to dance. They continued to court after that meeting and Eddie recalled that at this time, his mode of transport was a Lambretta and he used to cover the seat when it was parked outside to keep it dry and clear of bird lime so Davina could sit on it. Eddie sold his Lambretta 2 years later to buy an engagement ring and in 1958, they were married in the church in Acaster Malbis. The wedding reception took place in the De Gray rooms in Exhibition Square, York and they honeymooned in Venice and the Italian Dolomites.

Initially they lived in 2 rooms in a house in Edgware from where Eddie would commute to his job in London. He also took up evening classes at this time, studying for the Institute of Export exams. These qualifications subsequently lead to a job with ARL - a company that imported optical equipment. However before that they bought their first house in Leagrave, Luton, from where Eddie continued to commute into London.

In December 1959, their first child (Christine) was born and in 1962, their son Peter and in 1963 they moved to Harpenden and the family home in Bloomfield Road where in 1963, their daughter Anita was born.

Eddie worked for ARL until 1974, rising to become company secretary, founding a social club and enroling the company in the local Chamber of Commerce. However, by the 1970's, Eddie had become disillusioned with his job at ARL and concern about the proximity of IRA bombings on the mainland led him to move his family to Yorkshire to take over running the village supermarket in the village of Alne (Oak Farm Stores). The years in Alne were happy ones for all the family with a highlight being the village "It's a knock out" held as part of the Queen's silver jubilee celebrations. To supplement income from the shop, Eddie took on a part-time job selling cleaning chemicals to pubs, nursing homes, hotels and other businesses. This became a full time job after he closed the shop in 1979 and his patch included almost the whole of North Yorkshire. Eddie loved travelling through the beautiful Yorkshire countryside to visit his customers, many of whom became his friends. He knew all the best pubs and places to eat and loved to take visitors who stayed with them on scenic tours.

When Eddie retired in 1996, Oak Farm was sold to become a residential care home. Eddie and Davina moved to Huby and a new phase of life began. Eddie trained and worked as a volunteer tour guide in York, sharing his knowledge and love of the city with anyone who cared to listen. He also took up and was very successful at bowling and he was able to devote time to his hobby of philately.

When Eddie's first grandchild, Robert, was born, another new phase began. Josephine and James, Zoe, Emily and Sam, and Joanne and Sarah followed and he loved them all equally. Although babies were not "his thing", he loved playing with his grandchildren once they were old enough to run around and do so. He had a wicked sense of humour and could be quite naughty, which greatly amused the youngsters. But he also took a close interest in them as individuals as they grew up, sharing his love of travel, current affairs, stamps and family history with them. Many happy holidays were spent in Scotland with Christine and family, England with Peter and family and Australia with Anita and family.

Sadly all good things must come to an end and now in his 80's, Eddie's health started to deteriorate. Initially it was his balance that was affected but eventually vascular dementia deprived him of his liberty and he had to rely on the support of others for his personal care. Eddie accepted this without complaint and was loved by all who cared for him.

In June 2021, Eddie celebrated his 90th birthday at home in Huby with his immediate family around him. He remained at home until February 2022 when he was admitted to York Hospital after contracting COVID and a chest infection. Sadly he did not come home again after that and a shortage of care home places meant it was not possible to discharge him before he died.

Though Eddie is no longer with us in body, we all hold many memories of happy days which will comfort us in the days, weeks and years to come. Please feel free to add your own memories and photos to the site.