Brian Allison, who has died aged 81, was born in 1941 and raised in Farnham as the adored only son of Charles and Dorothy Allison. Brian was a much loved in an extended family of cousins. 

Brian was a choir boy at East Street Church with a passion for playing football, and a member of Farnham Youth Club. It was on a Farnham/Koblenz Youth Exchange trip that he met his future wife Susan Wicks, marrying at All Saints Church, Tilford in 1964.

They immediately settled in Tilford where Brian joined the family business of Wicks & Partners running the Tilford Garage, Village Stores and Post Office, later becoming a partner.

In 1965 and 1970 his daughter Sarah and son Julian were born, and as a family they enjoyed a close relationship filled with love and laughter.

Brian is fondly remembered for his outstanding community work, both in the parishes of Tilford and Rogate, where he later retired. 

He was best known for his fantastic humour and generosity, and anyone who moved to Tilford remembers the warm and enthusiastic welcome Brian gave them (often signing them up to play in Tilford Cricket Club or join a local committee!). 

Brian was an active member of many clubs and societies, including the Bourne Club, coaching Churt junior football team in the 1980s, and for his time serving on various committees, including chair of Tilford Parish Council, The Tilford Institute, and for reviving the village fete after many years’ absence.

In his spare time he played cricket at Tilford and spent hours maintaining the cricket pitch and wickets. Brian was dubbed the ‘eternal teenager’ as he was always the first up in the morning and last to bed at night.

There was nothing that he wouldn’t do for anybody in need.

In the early 2000s he was a trustee of Help Autistic Children, a local charity, raising funds and supporting Disability Challengers in Farnham.

Brian was a keen golfer and would often help co-ordinate charity golf days at Hankley Common Golf Club.

Brian and Susan retired in 2003 to Rogate, where Brian quickly became a real ‘mover and shaker’, making numerous friends and taking on responsibility for the village hall and recreation ground.

He was passionate about many sports, including football, cricket, golf and even motor racing, and he worked tirelessly to improve the facilities in the village.

In those days Rogate had a football team and a cricket team and Brian devoted himself to supporting them both.

Every day it seemed that he would drive from his house on the edge of the village to check that all was well on the ‘Rec’ and to mark out football pitches or parking for big events.

His assistance during the famous village fête was invaluable.

Practical and genial, with an ability to get on with all, he was an excellent chair of the Rogate Village Hall management committee and meetings were always fun in his presence.

In 2021 Susan and Brian moved from their home in Rogate, with its ship’s timbers, charming pool and garden room (a hideaway for Brian to relax and listen to music), to easier facilities in Midhurst, where he and Susan enjoyed a degree of well-earned leisure. 

Many counted him as a friend, not just a colleague, and he leaves a large gap in village life. Along with many Tilford, Rogate and Midhurst residents, he will he greatly missed.

His funeral was held on August 9 at All Saints Church in Tilford on a gloriously sunny day.

The service was attended by many friends and acquaintances from over the years, who remembered Brian fondly.

Obituary by Sarah de Marcos