Eulogy given by Bob Peach 10 th February 2020: As Ray's brother, I recognised three big aspects of Ray: First - Ray the family man Family was all and everything to Ray. His family came first. He loved being in a family; his parents' family, Beryl's family and his own close, Litton Cheney, family. Second - Ray the Dorset man Ray the rural man. In all his years he never lived in a town. He lived almost all his life in this part of Dorset. Like a stick of rock, Ray had "Dorset" running through him. Third - Ray's skills and personality He could turn his hand to anything and, goodness knows, he was a personality. That saintly smile. His skills with kids – I know my three children so loved their Uncle Raymond - he was full of clever “nonsense”. Ray was born in Melbury Osmond, just a dozen miles from here, the third child of Bert and Kath Peach. He had a brother Ivor and sister Janet. In the first five years of his life a million Americans left the south of England bound for the Continent. Many were based in and around Melbury Osmond and Melbury Park. His smiles gained him a lot of American cookies and candy. I was born when Ray was four, a home birth. When the midwife announced my arrival Ray expressed his disappointment by saying "I wanted a Jeep". Dad and school Our dad, Bert, was well known in the area. He was a carpenter; a sawsmith and mender of watches and clocks. Of the four of us Ray was the only one to inherit Bert's ability to make and mend things. Dad was a hero to Ray. They even looked alike. Initially Ray attended the village school in Melbury then, at age 11, moved on to the school in Evershot. After a spell working on a farm Ray was apprenticed as a welder in far off Sherborne. This was his introduction to motor bikes. So many motorcycle stories could be told! Late one night a police car arrived at our house. Minutes afterwards Ray arrived, freewheeling his motor bike, no engine noise. The police knocked on the door; Mother was raised from her bed. She was less than amused at the policeman even suggesting that Ray had been riding a motor-cycle, no L-plates, lights missing, not taxed and not in a road-worthy condition. She told the police Ray was in bed, wrapped up and warm, she had no intention to wake him. He had been there for hours. The police left. He was indeed in bed, still wearing a large coat and a crash helmet, but he was in bed. I was watching from the next bed, amazed. He had got away with things again! He smiled at me, pulled his goggles down over his eyes and pretended to go to sleep. The marriage At age 20 Ray married Miss Beryl Gaines, from the village of Aller, Langport, Somerset. Beryl - the love of his life. After a short courtship Ray and Beryl were married and stayed together for 59 years. Mum and Dad came to love Beryl a lot - she was welcomed into their family. This was ultra-important to Ray - Family again. Of course Ray also joined the Gaines family and stayed close to them to his end. Apart from her parents, Beryl had nine siblings. Many a story can be told of Raymond and the Gaines family - especially with Roger who moved to Dorset to be near his sister. Ray and Roger once rather famously got lost at sea - but that's a story for another time. The wedding The wedding reception was in a public house in Langport. My memory includes the landlord drinking more than all the guest put together. He did a drunken monologue - all about Gran's yellow hat and how, in his opinion, she thought she was the Queen Mother. Dear Gran was not amused, but Ray had his arm around her saying, "don't listen to him Gran - it's a lovely, lovely hat". Ray always had a way with the ladies. All was well. It was a very memorable wedding. The first child Then the arrival of Miss Mandy Peach – the first grandchild on either side of the family. What an event - four dotting grandparents and twelve aunts and uncles. Mandy was not too well when she arrived and whole family held their breath for several days until finally the all-clear was sounded. Ray was the proudest and happiest dad. Litton Cheney After a while of living and working in Aller, Ray joined his brother, Ivor, working as an artificial inseminator for the Milk Marketing Board. Ray was based in Bridport; Ivor was at the main centre in Sturminster Newton. Some good fortune smiled on Ray when he met Major Golding, a farmer in Litton. The major offered some part-time work together with a house Ray and his family could rent. Ray, Beryl and Mandy moved into School Lane, Litton Cheney, in 1964. Mandy eventually being joined by Sandra and Andrew. Later they bought the house from the Major. Ray and his family lived there for 56 years, raising a family in that happy house. Of course things didn't stop there and over the years Ray's family grew by the addition of two husbands, a wife, eight grandchildren and a great grandchild. Ray and his family in beautiful Dorset. It's impossible to say how much he loved his children and their children. He loved being Dad, Gups and Granddad. Dorset I said at the start how much Dorset featured in Ray's life. I wonder if there's anyone who knows this neck of the woods better than Ray. His exploits on his motor-cycles in his bachelor days. His many years with the MMB driving up every farm track. His days driving a cattle lorry for South-West Farmers (again working with his brother Ivor). His years with his news-agent business, delivering papers all over this part of Dorset, often ably assisted his own children and nephews David and Stuart. Ray the Pied Piper. Happy memories. He spent many years at Bagwell Farm where his ability to do a multitude of tasks made him a holiday park celebrity - many of the regular visitors were charmed by Ray's good humour and his ability to fix anything. The children loved visiting the petting farm with him, marvelling at the donkeys and highland cattle - Ray the Pied Piper again. Added to this he still had his entrepreneurial exploits dehorning, branding, welding and the heating/boiler trade. My memories of Ray in Dorset A battered Land-Rover, Percy the Jack Russell acting as navigator, arm out the window, a cigarette on the go. Ray about as happy as a man can be. Yes - every nook and cranny of this end of Dorset has seen Raymond Peach and all Ray's roads led to Litton Cheney, to his home, to his family. How appropriate that we are gathered here today in Litton where Ray loved to be. His final resting place, close to Mandy, both of them together in peace.