Dr John Pimlott Dr John Pimlott who was a Brigg born man and Head of the War Studies Department at Sandhurst's Royal Military Academy, was killed after two hand grenades exploded at his Surrey home. John (49) died just 12 hours after returning from a trip to the 1942 battlefield of El Alamein where he lectured Gulf War Generals from the US Central Command. Dr Pimlott, of Camberley, who was recently seen by TV viewers on Channel Four's Decisive Battles, died soon after the grenades exploded in his bungalow. Surrey police believe he had been examining the hand grenades which were among his collection of military memorabilia in his study, when they exploded. Dr Pimlott was the son of the former Head of Physics at Brigg Grammar School, Harry Pimlott and his wife Mary. On leaving Brigg Grammar School he read History at Leicester University, completed a Diploma in Education and then a PhD on British Army Administration. His late father became the scientific adviser to Lincolnshire County Council Education Service. Dr Pimlott, who leaves a widow Maggie and two teenage daughters, joined the Sandhurst staff in 1973, rising to the post of the Head of the War Studies Department in January 1994. He wrote a number of books including Armed Forces and Modern Counter-Insurgency (1985), Vietnam: The History and The Tactics (1982) and Middle East Conflicts (1983). The six 'Pimlott principles' on counter-terrorism have been used consistently by the British Government in attempting to resolve the Irish troubles and the 'Pimlott fundamentals' have been adopted by the Army. Matthew Midlane, the Director of Studies at Sandhurst, described his former colleague as "a brilliant and inspiring man".

Jack Cressey White OBE MA Charles Eccles from West Mains of Dunnichen By Forfar, Angus, Scotland, sent us an additional obituary for Jack Cressey White. He regularly corresponded with Jack and exchanged visits on two occasions. Jack always visited Charles' father - Charles Henry Eccles (Brigg Grammar School 1896-1901) and mother when they lived in Brigg (1955-197). Charles senior (1885-1979) was very keen on rowing and won four cups at the Ancholme Rowing Club in his twenties. Jack Cressey White OBE MA, was the only child of Allan White, who was the owner of the Brigg Mineral Water Company. Even at the early age of 13 he was a passionate lover of English Literature. I remember visiting his bedroom at this time where he had over 20 Penguin literary classics immaculately arranged on a shelf. His handwriting was always meticulous and his letters were beyond compare. After studying French and Spanish at Pembroke College, Oxford, he joined the British Council in Madrid where he taught English as a foreign language. He stayed with the British Council but also became a lecturer at the University of Madrid. This latter post was in the department of Philology, literally the Science of Language. I was once fortunate in attending one of his seminars with mature Spanish students where Jack was absolutely brilliant, getting tremendous student participation. Jack worked daily in term time from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. when he joined his wife Lola for dinner. During his last year he was made a professor, a signal honour for an expatriate. In his early years in Spain he married a widow, the daughter of the professor of Mathematics and became stepfather to Lola's three talented children. He had no issue. In 1994 he received the Order of the British Empire for his services to the British Council. Shortly after his retirement in the autumn of 1996 he developed an inoperable neoplasm of the intestine from which he succumbed on the 16 January 1997. He had a rich, full life, and the loss by his untimely death will be felt by thousands of English speaking Spaniards. He died in his 66th year.

Joyce Hastings (née Nicholls) 1918-1997 On Friday 18 April Rev Mary Lloyd and Rev David Woodward led the funeral service of thanksgiving to a packed chapel at Howsham, the same chapel that Joyce attended as a young girl and later where she was married to her future husband, John. The start of Joyce's life was at a time of great sadness, little known to her though, as only a few days before she was born her father had been killed in the closing days of 'The Great War''. She was born on the family farm at Wrawby, but with the death of her father, her mother moved back to her family home of "Fox Farm" (Howsham) where Joyce lived her childhood days with her mother and grandfather. On leaving the Junior School at Howsham Joyce cycled to the Girls' High School in Brigg and would relate many interesting times being taught by the staff under the guidance of the Headmistress at that time, Miss Lardelli. When Joyce was 18 she was accepted at Bishop Grosseteste College to train to be a teacher. Joyce started her teaching in Grimsby at Carr Lane and after 4 years returned to the Brigg area where her long connection with Glebe Road School began, and was to last over 30 years. She had a great talent for handicrafts and in music, which was to play a major part in her life wherever she went She always displayed a quiet manner and had immense patience with everyone. When Joyce retired from teaching she went on to pursue a business career, first in Garden Street where she started a hairdressing salon before moving this business to the Town Hall Buildings in Brigg. Later she changed to retailing fabrics and enjoyed meeting customers from all walks of life, especially the many that she had taught in their earlier years as young pupils. It was fitting that on the night she was taken into hospital she should be taken by one of her former pupils in the ambulance and was met at the hospital door by another of her former pupils who walked with her to the ward. Even coping with extreme pain she never complained and never forgot her manners and politeness.

Richard Dodd (1950-54) Richard Dodd, acknowledged Yorkshire's top golf writer for three decades, died at Ilkley on 30 December, 58 years of age. He started his career with the Brigg-based Lincolnshire Star, going on to the Lincolnshire Times and Hull Daily Mail. His flair for journalism coupled with the single-figure handicap he had acquired at Elsham Golf Club eminently fitted him for his eventual job as golf writer for the Yorkshire Post and, after taking early retirement two years ago, as press officer for the PGA European Tour. One trophy he always treasured was the shield he won in the Lincolnshire Boys' Championship at Elsham in 1958. The winner over 36 holes was 13 year old Tony Jacklin but Richard led the field in the afternoon round. In later years, in their respective capacities, they met up in all parts of the world, as the former US and British Open Champion put it, "literally from A to Z, from Augusta to Zambia." One of his biggest thrills, however, was when his name came out of the annual press draw at the Masters, enabling him to play the lengendary Augusta course. His final job was to organise the Ryder Cup communications system for the world press at Valderrama last September. But while he mixed with the "greats", he was just as happy playing with his friends. A long-standing member of the Old Briggensians Golfing Society, he won the trophy on three occasions, the third as recent as 1997. Former Walker Cup captain Rodney Foster was the first of hundreds to pay tribute. "Richard was right up there with the best of the golf writers," he said. "It was a pleasure to have someone covering golf who played it and understood it." From close friend Colm Smith, Irish Independent golf writer: "He could number among his friends some of the great names of the game - Henry Cotton; five times Open Champion Peter Thomson, the great Irishman Christy O'Connor; and in more recent times, Ryder Cup stars Colin Montgomery, Mark James, Howard Clark and Gordon Grand, to name only a few."