Tributes to former teacher and cricket stalwart from Read and Simonstone

Apart from a brief period living in Oswaldtwistle and attending University in Liverpool and Bangor, David (81) spent most of his life living in the Simonstone where he loved the village life and the surrounding countryside and where he became an established member of the community actively involved in many different clubs and organisations.

Daughter Rebecca said: “Dad was a true gentleman who always did everything with great passion. He had time to chat with everyone he met and will be greatly missed by those who knew him.”

Cricket lover

Former Accrington Grammar School pupil David spent his early life growing up in the newsagents in Read which his father ran on 2 Straits Lane, only a ‘big six hit’ away from the cricket club. He was an active member of the second team at Read and when no longer able to play he became an umpire instead.

In retirement he turned his hand to bowls and became a regular team member at the Read Bowls Club.

Farm hand

During his student days he had a wide variety of jobs in and around the village. His favourite was haymaking at Dick Sagar’s farm at Hough Head as they would end each day by going for a drink in the Red Rock Inn between Padiham and Sabden.

His least favourite was catching broiler chickens at Alfie Bracewell’s farm on Whins Lane. He had to get up early at 4-30am and go into the pitch dark cabins and catch four chickens in each hand held upside down by their feet and thrust them into small wooden cages.

The chickens showed their disapproval by flapping their wings which created clouds of dust. There were no masks in those days to resist the dust or hide the smell of ammonia.

A physics teacher at Edge End High School for 39 years, David was well respected and liked by pupils. In a tribute, a former pupil who he had also brought to Read CC to play cricket said: “I can’t thank him enough for the positive impact that Mr Marshall had on my life.”

David was so appalled by the humanitarian crisis in Kashmir which was affecting families of his pupils that he wrote a play ‘You, Me and Kashmir’ which was even broadcast on Radio Lancashire. His dedication at work to give children the best start in life spread over to cricket where he coached the under 11’s team.

Henry II

Inheriting some old family photos led David on a journey to research his family history and become an active member of the Lancashire Family History Society. He was elated to discover that he could trace one branch back to royalty, the illegitimate son of Henry II.

He also discovered the family had a set of triplets in the 1850s, Faith Hope and Charity Stockdale who remarkably all survived until the ripe old age of 86 when the first one died.

He had them entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest living triplets in Great Britain, a record which has since been surpassed.

Football

Football was another major sporting interest and David spent many years as vice chairman of children’s football team Readstone United, helping establish the club in 1989. A keen Burnley FC supporter, he had been a local referee for 28 years and was very pleased to be awarded the Hyndburn League’s ‘Linesman of the Year’ award in 1996.

Daughter Rebecca said: “Dad was a true gentleman who always did everything with great passion. He had time to chat with everyone he met and will be greatly missed by those who knew him.”

He leaves wife Sylvia, daughter Rebecca, sons Sam and Joe and grandson Leo.