HARRY Lawrence, a former Mayor of Farnham, chairman of Waverley council and much-loved member of the Upper Hale community, has died aged 84.

The oldest of four brothers, Harry was born on April 7, 1932, at his family home in Wings Road and spent much of his life on “the hill”, leaving Hale School at 14 and running H&M Newsagents in Upper Hale alongside his wife Marion for almost 20 years until 1981.

Famous for his great sense of humour, Harry was already a well-known community figure when he was elected to Farnham Urban Council as a Conservative in 1969 for the Hale and Badshot ward.

In 1974, on the reorganisation of local government, he joined the first Waverley council and served on the Farnham Consultative Committee which preceded the town council as well as the town council proper after its formation in 1984.

Harry was elected chairman of Waverley in 1979 and town mayor of Farnham in 1988, and also chaired Waverley’s environmental health, general purposes and planning committees before stepping away from local government after 22 years in 1991.

His widow Marion told The Herald: “Harry was frightfully independent and I don’t think he’d get away with it these days, but he wouldn’t put up with any rubbish and he did fight for Hale all the time. Right up until his death, people would still say to him that he should still be on the council.”

A keen cyclist and member of the Farnham Road Club in his youth, Harry met Marion, another keen cyclist, in 1952 on a cycle ride down to the coast and they married two years later at St Michael’s Church in Aldershot - celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary in 2012.

Their son John was born in 1957 followed by Jane in 1960, and for many years the family lived in the flat above H&M Newsagents at 121c Upper Hale Road, which Harry and Marion bought in 1963.

They eventually sold the business in 1981 and Harry later ran his own taxi firm for a number of years before joining Swain and Jones car dealership in East Street, delivering Jaguars for clients all over the country.

He died on Thursday, June 2, at Waverley Grange care home in Waverley Lane after a long battle with cancer and leaves behind his wife and two children, as well as two grandchildren.

Following his death, The Herald’s former chief reporter, Monica Jones, made the following tribute: “In my early years as a reporter for the Farnham Herald, more than 50 years ago, Harry Lawrence was one of my most valued contacts.

“I used to call at his shop in Upper Hale weekly to pick up snippets of local news, and although I must often have been an aggravation, he invariably welcomed me with warmth, generosity and the broad smile that I will always associate with him. His valued friendship continued post-retirement ever since.

“As a member of the Farnham Town Council from its early days and later a mayor of Farnham as well as a chairman of Waverley, Harry took his council work seriously, but never himself.

“When we left the council chamber after a meeting at which he had presided and I reported, he customarily drove me home, stopping off to buy a fish-and-chip supper, all gravitas forgotten. He was always good company and fun to be with.

“His local knowledge was unsurpassed and in more recent years he and his wife Marion played a leading role in the collection of material for the time capsule buried in the renovated Hale Institute and the consequent regular local history meetings.

“For me, for one, Harry Lawrence is irreplaceable.”

Another past mayor of Farnham and Waverley and a current town, borough and county councillor, Pat Frost, shared Hale ward with Harry in the 1980s, and said: “Harry was the most fantastic councillor. He mentored me and was great towards his constituents. He always gave sound advice and  had a wonderful sense of humour. It was a great privilege to work with him.”

Harry’s funeral will take place on Tuesday, June 21, at St Mark’s Church in Upper Hale at noon, followed by a wake at The Hale Institute. All are welcome to attend, but it was Harry’s wish that no flowers be left. Instead donations can be made in his memory to Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice.