Letter: With Many Fond Memories of My Friends, Effingham’s Great Pages

Published on: 18 Nov, 2020
Updated on: 18 Nov, 2020

The late Tony Page (left) with on the right Barnes Wallace

From: James Nicholls

In response to: Obituaries, Jessica and Tony Page

With great sadness I learnt of the deaths of Tony and Jessica. They were fantastic friends. I feel the need to write because I was born in Effingham, as was my father, grandfather and great-grandfather and we have a lot for which to thank the Pages.

Tony’s family lived at the top of the street in a house called The Cottage. In the RAF, Tony went to Canada to train on Liberators which he described to me as a “bloody awful aircraft”. I feel he was sorry not to have seen active service because the war ended before his training finished.

I can tell you the love Tony had for Effingham. He used to work for Shell Oils and he was called into the office of one director and asked: “Tony, who do you work for, Shell or Effingham?” Tony replied: “Both.” He kept his job.

It seems to me some of their really important work has been missed. My Mum came from Ireland and went to work at the Hayneys on Ranmore in 1945 where she met Jessica and became good friends.

Tony’s first foray into politics was getting rid of a dodgy parish council during the early Sixties and helping set up the residents’ association.

In my opinion, Tony’s greatest contribution was to lead the campaign to stop the M25 coming through Effingham. He won.

I could mention Effingham Common or the help he gave me in saving the Sir Douglas Haig pub from demolition in the late Eighties. In fact, Tony and Jessica pulled the first pint the night it reopened. There is so much more. May God bless them.