C&D Consultancy is closed today for the funeral of John Woodward Snr.

The office will be closed today whilst we attend the funeral of John Snr who will be cremated, after a Humanist service, at Gornal Wood Crematorium, Dudley at 15.30 followed by a few beers to celebrate his life at the Fountain Inn, Lower Gornal at 16.30.

John Snr would have been 87 tomorrow and his relatively long life was fairly typical of a man of that age. John left school at 14, as most people did in the 1930's, and became an apprentice fitter at Meadows Engineering in Wolverhampton where he learnt the engineering skills that he used throughout his working life.

He met my Mother Louise when he went to Lee Howl Pumps in Tipton to repair a machine and Mom was the receptionist, with whom Dad signed in and out every day. He obviously liked what he saw as Dad asked Mom to go to "the pictures" with him in Wolverhampton, a date that was, in the 1930's the equivalent of going to London on the train, on your own, at 14, as most people met their life partners within a few mile radius of where they lived. Mom had to also take a friend with her (my Grandad would not have allowed the date unless she did) and Dad brought a friend as well.

Neither Mom nor Dad could remember what the film was that they saw but it was the start of over 70 years of being together. At the time that Mom worked at Lee Howl she worked with a lady who would go on to be the wife of Harry Humphries (father of David Humphries who is one of C&D's clients).

Mom and Dad continued to see each other until at 18 Dad was called up into the Royal Engineers and sent to the Far East to fight the Japanese. As with the majority of the fighters who served in the Far East, Dad never talked much about "his war" but I am sure it was different as until the day he died he could not stand the smell of bananas and rice and left the table if anyone on it was eating either of the foods.

I asked him once why he didn't like them and Dad said "When all you have had to eat for over 6 months is banana and rice, with an occasional snake for meat, then you would be sick of it as well".

His armed forces service saw Dad go to Malta, then on through the Suez canal to India, into Burma and Rangoon, and then finally into Japan as one of the Allied Forces team who occupied Japan after the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dad has photos that he took after the bomb dropped (that are now in my safe keeping) that show the appalling devastation and loss of life in Hiroshima. All the time he was away he corresponded with Mom and when he returned with just a demob suit, a second pair of trousers and 5 shiilings to marry Mom.

When Dad returned from war he continued to work at Meadows (jobs were always kept open to servicemen in those days) until a long strike meant that he could not work and could not earn money so he left and went to work at The Gas Board where he stayed, having worked in many departments, until he retired at 60.

My Dad could be very stubborn (like me) and either liked someone or didn't. If he liked you then he would do anything for you, but if you crossed him in any way then that was the end of the friendship. His best strength as a Father was the fact that he gave me time and any job that he was doing would be put to one side if I needed or wanted his attention.

He was extremely proud when I became IDE President and always supported me, even when I made some poor decisions in life and business.

I will miss him every day, particularly when I am in the garden, as Dad loved his garden and spent every waking hour in it during Summer months.