It is with great sadness that I write of the passing, through cancer, of my father, Douglas "Paddy" King.
Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Home Brewer, Engineer, Electrician, Plumber, Handyman, Radio Modeller and, of course, Rover Enthusiast. These are just some of the words that describe my father and his interests through his life. Above all though he was a dedicated, proud family man and good friend to many.
Born in London in 1930 he lived the majority of his life in Surrey. His early job was working as a projectionist in various cinemas around the area. It was whilst working in a, now long gone, cinema in Weybridge that he met his future wife and my mother, Mary. Moving on from the cinema, my father worked for Vickers Armstrong, later BAC and British Aerospace, at Brooklands as an electrical engineer. He was there for more than 30 years, where the projects he worked upon included the ill-fated TSR2 and the advanced flight deck, until he took early retirement in 1987. However, never a man who could remain idle for long, it was little more than a year before he was back in the job market and found employment as head of test for a small electrical company in the area. In 1993 we lost my Mother and to fill his time he became interested in computers, doing occasional repairs for a local computer shop and, teaching himself about software and the internet.
When my father launched this website in 1996 he had no idea of how many people he would reach, how many lives he would touch. In the intervening years he has made many friends from all over the world and he always enjoyed exchanging pictures, information and more than a few tales with all of them.
It’s been a long time since I can remember Rovers not being part of my dad’s life. Except for a brief, misguided experiment with a Vauxhall Victor, he owned Rovers from 1972 and SD1’s exclusively from 1981 until his illness prevented him from giving his car the attention he wished. Although I have been driven thousands of miles in the comfortable surroundings of his many Rovers, I admit I sometimes wondered what the attraction was; as it occasionally seemed to me that he spent more time under the bonnet than he did behind the wheel. But I do believe he was rarely happier than with various engine parts covering the driveway and his hands covered in oil and grease.
He is survived by my two sisters and myself, six grandchildren and Tricia, his second wife.
For those that who wish to; flowers and cards can be sent to the undertakers..
Darren Miles
107 Felpham Road,
Bognor.
PO22 7PW.
The service and interment will be at 2pm on the 22nd June 2011 at
St Mary’s Church,
Felpham Village
All are welcome
Please email tributes/remembrances to the family by clicking here
David King.
10 June 2011