Former Fair Oak parish councilor Harold Price has died
He was a lifelong Scout, a former parish councilor and a beloved family man involved in various clubs and community societies.
Avid gardener and familiar face of Fair Oak Harold Price, who enjoyed a long career in the British Army, radio and engineering, has died aged 94.
Born in Bromley in Kent in February 1927, Harold was one of three children with older and younger sisters. He joined the scouts at the age of 11 and remained in the movement for the rest of his life.
The Second World War saw Harold go to Arborfield to join the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME), aged just 15. At 4ft 11 he was the shortest soldier in the British Army and became a radio mechanic. After completing his apprenticeship he served in various parts of England as well as three overseas tours, to Basra, Haifa and Tripoli.
Returning to the UK aged 21 and now a staff sergeant, he also worked in the radio repair shop in Christchurch. After 11 years in the military, Harold transitioned into the civilian world.
Harold was employed by the Marconi Company in Chelmsford, starting as a draftsman and progressing to a technical writer. While in Chelmsford he joined the Civil Defence, met his beloved wife Harriet and raised a family while maintaining a garden and growing fruit and vegetables.
After 20 years there, Harold joined Vickers Engineering Company in Swindon where he started a new group of scouts. When Vickers returned to Hampshire, the Price family bought a house in Fair Oak.
Harold was a founding member of the Fair Oak Gardening Club, the last original member. He was elected to the Fair Oak Parish Council and assigned to the Fair Oak Town Hall Management Committee, where he became chairman, a position he held for 13 years. In recognition of his services, one of the venue’s rooms is named in his honour.
Just before retiring, Harold took over a housing estate that he worked on for over 30 years. He was also involved with the Eastleigh Allotment Society.
He enjoyed spending time with his growing family, vacationing abroad, and taking evening classes to learn Dutch. Harold joined the Southampton Anglo-Dutch Society and was a member for almost 30 years.
Harold is survived by his wife Harriet, his children Coral, Julian, Robert and Jade, five grandsons and six great-grandchildren.