Heasman, David

OTT 580 - West

Date of Death: 01/02/2019

Reproduced from The Gazette No 70.

Mrs Sheila Heasman: (his mother) writes:

David was born in Lagos Island Maternity Hospital in 1963 while his father Derek was working as a Director for Taylor Woodrow in Nigeria, where the family stayed until 1965. We came back to the UK on the last voyage of
the Auriol, run by Elder Dempster Lines, back to Liverpool. A year after returning to our old home in Egham, we moved to West End, near Chobham, where we stayed for the next 14 years. David and Murray (OTT 394) went through infant and junior schools, and eventually to Clark’s College and then to Ottershaw.

One abiding memory I have of David’s time there was when he was so frustrated with learning French and not at all happy with the Master, that he ran off one day. Derek and I eventually found him in the telephone box on Ottershaw Hill, by the church, phoning home! However, several years later he spent about two years in Southeast France, where he worked at a well-known holiday camp (among the large dunes there), and started a cycle hire scheme for the holidaymakers. He came home speaking fluent French after all!

He went on to run his own company for the retail trade for the next 20 years. He also enjoyed racing with the MG Trophy Car Club. Many of his friends and family came to his funeral. He had a ‘heart of gold’ and would help anyone if he could. David had a happy life, with ‘ups and downs’ like all of us, but always remained optimistic and just got on with everything.