It
was with great sadness that we learned of Paul Smith's sudden death on
the 20th March, 2007 in his eighty eighth year.
He was a great supporter, and a major contributor to
the Winsham Web Museum. In what ever he did he brought great
enthusiasm and knowledge to the task, and his lively mind and insatiable
curiosity remained with him to the end.
A man is known by his works, and by dedicating this
gallery to his memory seems to be the right way for the Winsham Web
Museum to remember him.
The robin that sings unendingly is, for me, a
piquant reminder of his tireless enthusiasm. All I had to do was suggest
that an animated robin might be a nice idea for 'Bugs'n'Bees' and a few
days later the sequence of drawings dropped through my letter
box.
His support for the Internet was not limited to the
Web Museum ,and his contribution to the Parish Web site was equally
lively. His regular contributions by way of the 'Bugs'n'Bees' feature,
with his wonderful illustrations, often presented on a scrap of paper,
sometimes late, were a constant source of delight and information, and
they are now reproduced in this Museum
Paul was also a regular contributor , in
earlier years, to the Joint Parish Magazine, when his 'Winsham Whispers'
were a great source of amusement and interest. His 'whispers' were not
always well received ,and Paul told me that he had sometimes been
threatened with a solicitor's letter, but the journalist in him ,which
was always there, just under the surface, never flinched in the face of
a good story . One thing for sure is that while he could be stubborn,
there was never any malice in his motivation.
Paul Smith was a man of many talents. His books about his early life
delighted many. He was also an enthusiastic flier of light aircraft, a
broadcaster, a photographer. In his early seventies he successfully took
an Open University degree. He was also a successful farmer in Purtington
for some forty years, before coming to live in Winsham in so called
retirement.
With his passing Winsham has lost a wonderful character ,a man of high
intelligence, strong opinions and an artist with a great talent for
representing the wildlife and and flora that he loved so much. He is
greatly missed.
John Sullivan (2007) |