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| 31 Jul 2017 | |
| Deaths & Obituaries |
| SYMONS, Edward John (John) Died on 9th July 2017, aged 91. Born in 1926, John lived in Tunbridge Wells with his parents and two sisters, one older and one younger. He attended Rose Hill prep school from the age of five and it was here that his love affair with boats and sea began since there was a replica of a full-size tug boat in the school grounds with mast, rigging, dingies, a bridge and a brass binnacle he had to polish. In 1939, he joined Tonbridge School as a day boy, cycling the five miles trip every day. It was here he met his lifelong friend Malcolm McNicol, and discovered his love for maths and accounting. In 1944 he joined the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Diamead for his national service and became a meteorologist. He adored clouds and weather systems which underpinned his love of sailing in the later years. After he was demobbed in 1949, he and Malcolm McNicol worked together in the wine trade, but then John qualified as an accountant and he joined the British American Tobacco Company in 1951 as a travelling auditor, mainly in the Indian sub-continent and Far East, which he enjoyed enormously. He was appointed to the BAT Board in 1970 with a wide range of responsibility and subsequently in 1975, he became Senior Finance Director and a year later Deputy Chairman. From 1980-82 he was also director of the Wiggins Teape Group. In May 1984, aged 58 and after 32 years at BAT, he decided to take early retirement to spend more time with his family and enjoy his love of travelling and sailing. During his years in BAT, vital pre-tax portfolio grew to eight times their 1970 level. He made a great contribution to the company that enjoyed such success. In 1958, he married Mary and they enjoyed family life together for fifty-one years until Mary’s death in 2010. He loved his family dearly, and set a real example of what it means to have a family. He adored taking the family on holidays to the West Country and his ideas, adventurous stories and experiences were endless, exciting and fun. He encouraged the family to experience all that life had to offer, but also to treat people with kindness, respect and care, to make time to listen, to support and to love. (SH 39-44) |
