Charlie Belcher: Remembering a 'much loved village character' and master craftsman

A ‘much loved village character’ and master craftsman from Waltham St Lawrence has been laid to rest in a funeral attended by 500 people dressed in his signature style.

Charlie Belcher, who lived in the village for his whole life, was a farmer and ‘a country man by birth and by choice’, whose talent for working with materials was famed in his community.

With an eye for detail and a particular specialism – plus ‘infinite patience’ – for timber work, Charlie knew his craft ‘inside and out’.

He could build a barn from scratch or restore a timber-framed building and would treat these projects ‘as if he was restoring an old friend back to life.’

Charlie helped restore the village Pound, a historic cattle pound at the heart of the village and also repaired the war memorial posts after they were damaged last year.

A man of many talents, Charlie could make tree stump carvings and was also talented at iron work – once making an elaborate belt with a buckle made out of old bullet shells, which got him briefly into hot water at the airport while attempting a trip abroad.

He is remembered fondly as a joker with a ‘great dress sense’ who enjoyed energetic displays of air guitar and making people laugh.

Thanks to his passion for ploughing, Charlie was known to travel miles out of his way to attend a ploughing match – and was featured in the Advertiser several times for his victories in the Royal Borough.

Charlie became unwell with pancreatic cancer and passed away on May 15 at his sister’s house in Twyford.

Before his death, a fundraiser was set up to help him achieve a lifelong dream of visiting Fountains Abbey in York, which as a master craftsman, he a great appreciation for.

The fundraiser fetched more than £14,000 in four days – and Charlie was immensely grateful to be able to visit with his family shortly before his passing.

In his own words, he said: “Being able to see it in person, to walk its grounds and take it all in, was deeply moving.

“It meant everything to me to experience that moment with the people I love. I may not have the strength to say much more, but please know how deeply grateful I am.”

The fundraiser was set up by his friends Alastair and Lucy Brooker. Alastair said Charlie was staggered by everyone’s generosity.

Charlie’s funeral was on Monday, June 16, and attendees were asked to wear an item of clothing in his signature style – a checked shirt, cravat, cowboy boots or a leather hat.

Alastair said it was ‘touching’ to see hundreds of people dressed in honour of Charlie’s memory.

The funeral was held at Waltham St Lawrence Church and Charlie was brought up to the church on the back of his tractor – one last trip.

The church was well over capacity and the grounds were ‘packed’. In anticipation of the many attendees, the service was streamed to Neville Hall and online.

Reverend Nnamdi Maduka commented on this high attendance during his service, saying: “To see these numbers here today says a lot about this man.”

The Bell Inn – being a ‘spiritual home’ to Charlie and a place where he was commonly found –was open to ‘revellers’ on the day of his funeral to have a drink beforehand.

Charlie is survived by his four-year-old son Reggie, partner Tamara, daughter Larna, sister Julie and brother Robert.

Donations made in Charlie’s memory can be made to Waltham St Lawrence Church or to Cancer Research UK.