FARNHAM has lost one of its “great characters”.

Jack Stacey passed away in Frimley Park Hospital on February 13, aged 86. He was taken to hospital before Christmas but his condition gradually deteriorated.

He was born in Farnham almost 87 years ago and attended East Street School. He left school to begin working at the age of 14 and joined the Farnham Herald seven-year apprenticeship scheme.

On completing this, he did his National Service in the army, seeing active service in Kenya.

After being demobilised he joined Gale & Polden, a large printing company in Aldershot, and after a number of years with them he moved to another printer’s named John Drew.

Around this time he started doing voluntary work with the Farnham Youth Service.

This brought him into contact with members of Young Farnham Youth Club and a group of young men who met regularly at The Marlborough Head. Different members had different trades and they began to offer help to people in need and particularly the elderly.

In time the numbers grew and eventually they decided to call themselves The Hedgehogs, now one of the major fundraisers in the town.

In 1967 Jack decided to join the youth service on a full-time basis and became Youth Leader for Farnham, taking responsibility for running youth clubs in Farnham, Wrecclesham and Hale.

He greatly enjoyed working with young people of the town, participating in many activities, and one of the highlights each year was assembling a team of young people from around the county to assist at the annual Holidays for the Disabled event.

Many of the volunteers returned year after year, long after their time as youth club members had ceased.

In 1987 Jack was elected President of the Hedgehogs, a position that he held for more than 20 years.

He was proud of his role and would often say a few words at cheque presentations or major fundraising events.

After more than 50 years with the Hedgehogs he decided to leave and enjoy his retirement.

He was married to Gill, a local nurse, and they had two children.

Their son Chris went to Farnham Grammar School and now lives in Worcester, while their daughter Carolyn is a nurse living in Canterbury, Kent. Jack and Gill enjoyed travelling to visit both families to see their children and their five grandchildren on a regular basis.

In recent years Jack did voluntary work at the Rural Life Centre in Tiford helping to catalogue the huge number of artefacts that had been collected over the years.

He still remained in contact with several Hedgehogs, including Maurice Hewins and Mike Barter who were two of the initial members in 1959.

Jack Stacey was said to be a well-loved and well-known figure in the town of Farnham and will be missed by many people.

Members of the Hedgehogs paid tribute to Jack and said: “It is with great sadness that we hear of the passing of Jack Stacey. The Hedgehogs membership, both old and new, sends their condolences to Gill and family: we recognise the exceptional, valuable and committed effort of Jack in his long years within the Hedgehogs was also due to their support.

“He was the longest serving president of the Hedgehogs and without the likes of Jack the Hedgehogs would not be where they are in 2019 – celebrating 60 years of ‘Helping Local People and Organisations in need’.”

Jack’s funeral will be held tomorrow at Aldershot Crematorium, followed by a reception at the Princess Royal.