The funeral for a stalwart who helped forge Blacon’s renowned community spirit takes place on Wednesday (March 15).
Ethel ‘Etty’ Thompson, 85, was proud to have received the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to Blacon in 2013.
She had lived in Saughall Road but passed away on Thursday, March 2, in Atherton Lodge Residential Home, Ellesmere Port.
A Requiem Mass takes place at St Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church, Blacon Avenue, Blacon, tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12.15pm followed by interment at Blacon Cemetery.
Etty was brought up in Steven Street, Boughton, where she was immersed in a thriving community atmosphere which was what she loved when she moved to Blacon with her husband Raymond in 1958.
Etty had met him at a dance at Saighton Camp where he had been based with the forces. He later became rounds manager for Express Dairies in Saughall Road but died aged just 48.
It was his connection with the services that led Etty to become involved with the Royal British Legion. She became chairperson of the British Legion Ladies Section in Blacon and was a standard bearer for 16 years. She used to hold a fundraising draw every week and sold poppies for 30 years.
She has been involved in numerous projects including the youth film ‘The State of Blacon’. She has also met the Queen and Prince Charles through her voluntary work.
Etty, who was twice nominated for Cheshire Woman of the Year, was vice chairwoman of Blacon Community Trust for years.
And she was so grateful to the Countess of Chester Hospital who saved her life just a few years ago when she fell seriously ill.
She is survived by her daughter Julie and three grown-up grandchildren.
The late Joe Rose, a fellow Blacon stalwart, once said of his friend: “She is an excellent example of a community volunteer. She will always help or offer to assist anyone who is in trouble.”
Reggie Jones, who has just resigned as a Blacon councillor, knew Etty well.
He said: “She was one of the first settlers in Blacon. When I look back on my childhood – we moved in when they were building Stratford Road, post-war baby boomers – it seemed to me, on reflection, that it was very matriarchal. Women had a strong voice. The men went off to the pub but it was the women who organised everything through the churches.
“For me, Etty represented the spirit that is Blacon. They forged it, those early settlers, and you look back and lament a bygone age.”
Former Chester Labour MP Christine Russell said: "She was such a stalwart. Her passing marks the end of an era. I remember entertaining Joe Rose and Etty on the terrace at the House of Commons and she loved it.
"She was absolutely great and quite a feminist in her own way. She was very active in the women's section of the Royal British Legion. She used to say to me 'That war effort, women contributed to that but we never got the credit'. I really respected her."
■ Family flowers only are requested at the funeral. Donations, if desired, to the Royal British Legion Women’s Section would be appreciated by the family.
The British Empire Medal received by Etty was brought out of abeyance by then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012 to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
