Allonby, Gordon

OT 33 - East

Date of Death: 15/12/2015

Taken from The Gazette No 63.

Gordon was among the first intake of pupils to Ottershaw School. Born in Wakefield in 1934, he was always proud of his Yorkshire heritage.

A member of the Air Training Corps and the school choir, he enjoyed the humour of alternative words to carols such as “While shepherds watched” and the hymn “O for a thousand tongues“. He was a successful cricketer at Ottershaw and in later life retired from his local team with bowling figures of 5 for 36. Special school friends with whom he kept in touch after his schooldays included Michael Buley and Malcolm Pratt. On leaving school, Gordon joined the RAF. Having passed the written test for air crew, he failed the medical examination because of an ear disorder and was trained as a radio operator, communicating with Air/ Sea Rescue covering the North Atlantic. He then moved on to Customs and Excise, ultimately working in finance and VAT, through to his retirement.

A modest man in his local community, he played cricket for his village club until he was 53 and was well known for his untiring work raising funds for many different charities over the years. Gordon battled against cancer for some 14 years and endured several major operations. However, maintaining his sense of humour and making the most of those difficult years, he nevertheless kept in touch with school friends and the Old Boys Society, attending the Dennis Williams lunches in their early days. His friends from schooldays will remember him by his nickname “Duzzen”, derived from his distinctive Yorkshire accent when saying “dozen”!

He was cared for by his wife Jilian at home, where he died peacefully on 15 December 2015. A service of celebration was held at his parish church on 7 January, when his family were supported by a full turnout of friends paying tribute to Gordon and his life. He will be sadly missed by his friends from his days at Ottershaw and his colleagues in the Old Boys Society.
Peter Jones