Rev J. Bidder

8:43am Friday 18th April 2008

THE funeral of the Rev John Bidder, aged 88, took place at Holy Trinity Church, Bolton-le-Sands, followed by internment in the churchyard. The service was conducted by the Rev Tom Maidment.

John, the son of a steeplejack contractor, was born at Menai Bridge, on the Isle of Anglesey, on November 16, 1919, but was brought up at Burage, Manchester.

He matriculated from Manchester Grammar School and started his employment in banking. In March 1940, he joined the Royal Army Service Corp and, after training, he was posted to the 8th Army in Egypt where he met General Montgomery. He then went to Tripoli, in Libya, where he joined the 5th Army and took part in the invasion of Italy, landing at Salerno. During his war service in Italy he was Mentioned in Dispatches.

On being demobilised, he attended agricultural college for a year. He then worked on various farms for five years. While working on a farm in Leicestershire, he met a friendly parson and his wife, as a result of which he offered to go overseas with the Church Missionary Society. He was advised to join an Abbey Community at Lynton, Devon, for a year and look after their farmland. After this, he was accepted by the CMS and, after a year at its training college, he went to Uganda in 1956 as an agricultural missionary and assisted with a Scout troop. He returned to the UK in 1960 and was accepted for ordination.

He spent some months at a parish at Dalston, near Hackney, and then, after training at Cuddesdon College, he was ordained a deacon in 1962 and priest in 1963. While serving as curate at Birstall, Leicester, he met his wife Freda and they were married in February 1965. Their son, Michael, was born in the November and in 1969 they adopted their son Adrian.

After his marriage, he served as an incumbent at Croft, Leicestershire, and then in 1971 at the parishes of Mepal and Witcham and in 1980 at Coates, all in the Fens.

In 1985 he retired' to Nether Kellet where he took an active interest in village affairs and conducted many of the services at the village church, St Mark's, and assisted the vicar at Bolton-le-Sands.

In 1987 he founded the Good Companions club. In 1998 he was instrumental in forming the Twinning Association which resulted in the twinning with Busseries in France.

He enjoyed walking, cycling, being near the sea and among people. He had an allotment garden until old age got the better of him. Always active until illness took its toll, he visited the sick and helped where he could.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and four grandchildren.

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