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- Euology for David Ernest Grimwood, 1928-2014
David is fondly remembered by family and friends as being full of fun with a strong sense of family loyalty.
He was the third youngest of the 15 children of Rose and Harry Grimwood of Holyport Road, Fulham - he was the boy with blond curly hair. As one can imagine, with such a large family, times were hard and money was short, but the Grimwoods had standards. All the Grimwood children had memories of a happy home with caring parents and good food.
It was a childhood where fun was of your own making. Siblings were their friends, as were neighbour's children. Apart from the usual boyhood activities, David had talents for drawing and knitting. Unfortunately, the start of World War 2 meant he was unable to take up his place in the local central school. He and brothers John and Eric were evacuated to Loudwater, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
On reaching school leaving age, he returned to Fulham to start work in a radio components factory on the Great West Road. He then fulfilled his ambition to join the RAF and become a cadet.
David's home leaves were always spent in Holyport Road. He enjoyed dancing and once won a series of ballroom dancing lessons at the local dancing school, for which he was partnered by his sister Rose.
In time, he met Barbara and they set up home in Kings Lynn. On her first visit to the family house in Fulham he did not tell anyone, until they arrived, that they had just married. Barbara quickly fitted into the family and became great friends with Davids sister, Rose and other members of the family.
Barbara gave birth to Martin in 1955, when David was stationed at Marham. As their second child Duncan had been still born, they only had one set of baby clothes ready when their twins Sarah and Claire arrived in 1961. David then hurriedly knitted a second matching set.
Barbara and the children followed David to Singapore on a three-year posting. His father died in 1962, shortly after Davids arrival. As sister Rose had to give up work in order to look after their mother, David arranged for an allotment of £1 per week to be paid to her.
David, Barbara and family returned to Fulham to live with sister Rose and brother Eric in the family home until David took up his posting at RAF Chivenor. They then moved to a hiring in Combe Martin before taking up residence in quarters on camp. David was aways very involved in bringing up the children. He made fantastic birthday cakes for the children's birthdays. He would cut out dresses for the twins and Barbara did the machining. Every summer they welcomed Rose and also Barbara's sister Ruth and family to stay. He always made a point of attending Grimwood weddings in London.
Going to the beach at Saunton or Crow Point played a big part in family life. It was like a military operation, with everybody having an item to carry on the long trek to a sand dune away from the crowd. Dining was done in style with a table cloth being used and David pouring tea from a teapot.
Barbara and David were keen members of the RAFA club, then housed in a tin hut, and became the mainstays of the Friday night bingo sessions. David was the caller and he and Barbara would prepare rolls to sell during the break. They had many friends on camp, particular friends being Jennie and Mike Marshall.
Barbara and the children lived at Calshot, Southampton during his posting to Sharjah. The family then returned to live at Chivenor when David was posted there for a second time. His final posting was to Brawdy when Chivenor closed.
He retired from the RAF as a Chief Technician and the family settled in Fairlynch Close, Saunton Park. David became a keen gardener. He was always interested in reading about RAF history. He with other RAFA members built the skittle alley in a new RAFA building at Chivenor. For many years he was a member of a skittle team.
He and Barbara enjoyed attending functions such as dining-in nights. They regularly went on walking days with friends, Margaret and Lee. They enjoyed holidays in Spain, the Canary Islands and the former Yugoslavia. They visited London to stay with Eric and Maureen and to Cambridge to stay with Ruth and Chick.
Shortly after retiring from the RAF, David embarked on a second career, with DHSS, Barnstaple. His cake making talents were soon recognised and he produced many celebration cakes for colleagues, usually on a non-profit making basis. David used his d-i-y skills to help Martin renovate Martin's first house, in Ilfracombe.
He left the DHSS to care for Barbara who had developed cancer. Despite always having been squeamish about medical matters, he was a brilliant carer. Barbara died in 1992. The family suffered further tragedies when Claire and John's daughter Kirsty died when she was nearly three and when Davids twin daughter Sarah died at her home in Thailand, in 2006.
On his 65th birthday, the family gave him a surprise party at the Sergeants Mess in Chivenor, attended by many friends and relatives. He was presented with a painting of a Hawker Hunter flying over Woolacombe Beach.
David was a hands-on grandfather when granddaughters Hannah and Stacey were young and would have them to stay overnight. He, with daughter Claire and friend Margaret developed an interest in making dolls houses. He loved occasions and was the star of a murder evening at Eric and Maureen's, dressed as an aging pop star, with wig, black roll neck top and long gold chain necklace. He, Eric and nephew Dennis, used to chat about life in Fulham as youngsters David used to say it was going down memory lane.
In 2012, he moved from Fairlynch Close to live in a refurbished bungalow next to Martin and Joyce. Martin arranged for a cleaner and gardener and, as time went on, Joyce provided more and more meals for him. Claire was a frequent visitor and Sarah's husband Pete took him shopping every week. Although David's health was deteriorating, he continued to meet with RAF friends on Friday evenings to go out for a meal. The last occasion was on 7th November, just three days before he died.
He will be greatly missed.
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Dutton, Berrett & Hungerford Twigs
1928 - 2014 (86 years)
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