The weather did not hold for us this year and unfortunately we held the service in the rain. However this did not daunt the villagers who turned up on this soggy morning (coffee at the cafe) with umbrellas, sandwiches and a sunny disposition, if nothing else.The service was presided over by Canon Terry Louden and we had children and dogs too so a worthy congregation from all the parishes of the Upper Meon Benefice.
One of the eulogies was given by Merle Hickman, the daughter in law of Eric, at hisfuneral held at St John the Evangelist, Langrish on 11 April 2024. Reverend CanonTerry Louden also added the Langrish eulogy and Father Tony Forrest also officiated.Before I start I’d just like to say that Eric talked me into doing this, he had a way about him that when he asked someone to do something for him it was difficult tosay no. Eric was born in 1930 to loving parents, in his own words I really loved my mum and dad. He had six brothers and two sisters, Rene, Owen, Bill, Walt, Grace, Les, Ian, and Bob, who is the only one still with us thankfully.My first meeting with Eric (I can’t get used to calling him Billy) was well over twenty years ago when we went to buy a Christmas tree for the vicarage from the nursery at the top of Bordean Hill. That was Eric’s domain. I remember that he was very good at choosing an appropriate tree and making the sale in his usual straightforward manner. We must have been satisfied for we went back to Eric every Christmas until the nursery closed. Eric loved and took great pride in the nursery over the thirty years he ran it. He was, as we have heard, a good neighbour to the patients and staff at the Sue Ryder Home at Bordean House. It is very fitting that the nurses of the Rosemary Foundation, which was conceived at Bordean House back in 1997, were able to care for Eric and to be a good neighbour to him during his final illness. Eric liked order, discipline and detail. You could see that in his garden, and in his ornaments at Barrow Hill Cottage! He planned this service, well in advance, choosing music, hymns and reading. But we have added a little to it. I don’t think he will mind. The bible reading we listened to is so appropriate for someone whose life was spent mainly out of doors, as was the case with Eric. We heard about God’s care for everything he has made, down to the details. He clothes the beautiful lilies of the field; he provides for us and tells us not to be anxious. I think Eric was basically a satisfied man, contented; he did not have a bucket list of things to do that he never got round to. He had a good, long and happy marriage. He never went far. He rejoiced in being out in God’s good creation, with the change of seasons, the signs of growth and colour. I am sure he liked spring, this time of year. Most of us knew Eric as a market gardener and as a gardener. But, as we have heard, in earlier years he was a cowman. I am no agricultural expert, but I know how much farming has changed in the eighty years since Eric first went to work. Looking after cattle in the mid-20th century would have been hard physical work, day in and day out. Eric was above all adaptable, able to turn his hand to many things. ‘All things bright and beautiful’ is a well-known hymn, sometimes sung without too much attention to the words. But it is particularly resonant and appropriate at the funeral of a countryman, since it references so many aspects of the English natural world, which Eric so much appreciated. The story goes that Fanny Alexander, who wrote the words, was inspired on a visit to the West Country, an area which Eric loved. So today we give thanks for a father, a father-in-law, a grandfather and great-grandfather, a man proud of his large family. No one is perfect, of course, none of us is. Eric’s directness, his straightforwardness – calling a spade a spade – was sometimes difficult for others to accept. And I’m sure he could be stubborn. Eric is one of the last of a particular generation. We lay him to rest just a few days after Easter. Easter marks the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The presence of the living Lord assures us that there is new life beyond the grave, where sins are forgiven, and we are made perfect in God’s love. Eric was not a great church attender, but he loved this building and churchyard and he was determined to be buried here, with his wife, and close to his school and boyhood friend, the motorcyclist Ken Hall. May Eric rest in peace and rise with Christ in glory.Reverend Terry Louden
Taken from the eulogy by Rev Terry Louden at Charles Sprinks’ funeral in St John the Evangelist church, Langrish.I have known Charles for nearly thirty years, and I knew all about his favourite food and drink – liver and bacon, curry at The Paradise, red wine – a glass or maybe two, but I did not know until very recently that as a young man he was a keen and proficient amateur cyclist, as is clear from the photo on the Order of Service. He came 73rd in a national time trial in 1955. 73rd sounds down the list, but it was a national trial.My own lasting image of Charles, and it is a shame that no photograph of this exists, is of him standing on a ladder cutting the outside and the top of the front hedge at Yew Tree Farmhouse as the trucks thundered by on the A272 just a few feet away from him. It was either courage, or a touch of foolhardiness. And that was just a few years ago.Charles was born in Aldershot, the home of the British Army. His father was in the Army, and for Charles, loyalty to the armed forces of this country was an important part of his life. He was a teenager during the Second World War and observed lots of military comings and goings. He was telling me only recently that he was able to watch some famous English and Scottish footballers who had joined the Army when they turned out for Aldershot FC, Matt Busby and Frank Swift among them.Charles left Farnborough Grammar School early at the age of 15, without qualifications, but he benefitted from a War Office Training Scheme, which took him in the direction of design and draughtsmanship. He helped plan military accommodation in Libya. He was called up for Service with the Royal Engineers, chopping down trees in the Harz Mountains in Germany. He retained an affection for the Royal Engineers – his last labrador was named Sapper. He attended night school in Farnham on his return from Germany. He was very determined in his choice of a career path, which eventually resulted in him establishing his own architectural company, Charles Sprinks and Associates. As churchwarden here for eighteen years, he had an interesting and sometimes robust relationship with church architects.Charles was an outdoors person. His last months were difficult and frustrating – he hated being confined to the house, and even worse, to a chair. He enjoyed walking, especially with his dogs, and I am told that there were many, many dogs over the years, mainly flat-coated black labradors. He was a member of a shoot at Heyshott for a long time. He would walk in all weathers, sometimes to his cost, like when he fell in the snow and broke his hip just before Christmas some years ago now. I think that his vision of God was firmly based on what he saw and appreciated in creation all around him, especially looking from the top of his garden across to the hangars, glass in hand. His favourite colour was yellow, an outdoor colour, the colour of the sun.Those who worship here regularly have great cause to be thankful for all that Charles, and Jane, have faithfully undertaken for this place of worship. Charles was a very practical, hands-on churchwarden. I spoke of his loyalty to the armed forces. Langrish has two First World War recipients of the Victoria Cross – Sergeant George Horlock and Admiral Robinson. There was no memorial here to Horlock, who won his VC on the Western Front, and who later died at sea, until with Charles’s inspiration and direction, a memorial plaque to George Horlock was placed on the west wall. Admiral Robinson, whose VC was awarded in the Dardanelles, and who was one of Charles’s predecessors as churchwarden, is buried in the lower churchyard and his grave was refurbished. Charles spent a lot of time creating and updating a churchyard map. Only Jane knows how many hours he spent down here doing odd jobs. The church was his ‘man shed’, though he did many odd jobs at home as well! He spent a lot of time pondering, sadly without lasting success, about how to install a loo in this building and to provide it with a safe car park.Then there was the paper collection. Fifteen or twenty years ago there was money to be made in old newspapers. Charles spent hours and days trying to persuade councils, schools, supermarkets, pubs and anywhere else he could think of in this area and beyond to host paper bins for Langrish Church. It was a useful income stream for many years.Such a task requires a certain doggedness and attention to detail. Charles was born under the sign of Taurus, the bull, and Taureans are known for being stubborn and pedantic. I can say this with confidence because I am a Taurean myself – our birthdays were four days apart. None of us are perfect, and we all make mistakes. Charles did have a stubborn side, a considerable attention to detail, he could be awkward, he could hold his own in an argument and he was not a sufferer of fools. But he had no side to him. You knew where you were with him. He was honest and straightforward. He was a friendly and welcoming face to newcomers to the village and to this congregation.Jane Sprinks wishes to thank those who generously donated to the retiring collection, a total of £543 split equally between the Rosemary Foundation and Hounds for Heroes. It gives clear evidence of the esteem in which Charles was held.You can hear Charles talk about his experiences locally during the Second World War in the recording on the East Meon History Society website, link below Charles Springs | Oral Histories | East Meon History Archive
The Welcome Service for The Revd Antony Forrest to the Parishes of Langrish, East Meon, West Meon and Warnford was held in All Saints’ Church, East Meon on the evening of Wednesday, 21 st of February. The service was taken by The Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Frost, Bishop of Portsmouth. Tony was well supported by many clergy from the Diocese as well as family and friends, representatives from his previous Benefice and, of course, many members of the congregation of our own Parishes. The congregation amounted to approx. 220 people so the church was packed to bursting. There were gorgeous flower decorations arranged by residents of East Meon and glorious singing was provided by East Meon and Langrish Choir, ably assistant by the choir from Tony’s previous Meon Bridge Parish.A reception was held in East Meon Village hall after the service, where members from across the Benefice had produced wonderful food and the East Meon Barmen and catering volunteers did an excellent job. A BIG thank you to all our volunteers who helped in the church, with flowers, the bell ringers, on parking duty and many other tasks and important roles which accumulated in a really special evening. This was all done in very testing weather conditions. It was a great celebration at the start of Tony’s time with us, and we look forward to the days and years ahead of having Tony as our priest.
