Page 32 - The Constructor 2017

The Company

Despite taking up Tennis in his mid-thirties, and knowing that he wouldn’t get to championship level,
Henry channelled his passion for the sport into teaching others, becoming a BLTA coach. He spent
countless hours on the tennis court, teaching junior squads. He even taught their friend and
neighbour film heart throb David Hemmings Tennis for his part in 1966 film “Blow Up”.
Everyone was special to Henry, he genuinely liked people, and could light up lives just by being there.
This made it so hard for Henry to bear the loses when close family members passed away; so it is
unimaginable how he must have felt when their beloved daughter Merry died suddenly in 2009.
Henry was modest about own his talents and achievements and he had an immense respect for
everyone and a genuine interest in every aspect of people’s lives. A strong, persistent, gentle soul,
who oozed humour and spiritual wisdom. He had the strength and courage to be sensitive, and the
emotional intelligence to navigate the depths. A truly new age renaissance man, strong enough to
love a strong woman with all his heart, tender and compassionate enough to understand and love
her vulnerabilities.”
Many people in the Company were friends with Henry.
As Past Master Doug Barrat so eloquently said “Henry was an absolute gentleman - there wasn't a
bad bone in his body. All of us who knew him well loved him. His drawings on the back of menu
cards were legendary.”
Our current Master, Tony Ward, said “He was a ‘Gentleman’ in the true sense of the word, and his like
are ever rarer in this day and age. We are the poorer for his passing. We will forever have memories
of him in his sketches and drawings depicting our many events in livery”.
It is one of Henry’s many watercolours of City life that we are pleased to use on the front cover of
this issue of the Journal.

Our New Companions

Anna McPeake
Anna Mc Peake, Gerard McPeake’s widow, is one of our new Companions. She writes:
“It was with great pleasure that I received a letter on 13
March 2017 from Ian Mason, the Master of the Worshipful
Company of Constructors, inviting me to become a
Companion of the Company. I do so hope that the example
set by my husband, Gerard, will give food for thought to the
many young people who are on their own life pathways and
who also see the benefits of joining the Livery and
particularly the Worshipful Company of Constructors. We did
so enjoy and appreciate the Livery functions and so to
continue attending one of his interests in my own right was a
special opportunity for me.
I therefore attended my first Companion’s Lunch on 11 May 2017 in Trinity House, London. My guest
and I were welcomed with great courtesy and sensitivity. Past Master John Robson, who had worked
with Gerard on the airports at Glasgow and Edinburgh, and who obviously shared professional and
social times was at my side at table. This was a quite delightful arrangement. Earlier the Clerk and

32 | Autumn 2017 | The Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors