Frank Ernest George Attrill
6th October 1930 – 29th January 2025
Frank retired to Dorset in 1990, when he and his wife Jan moved to Bourton, where he became a school governor of the local primary school, however, having more time on his hands and revelling in learning new skills, he also became involved in bell ringing (it was the mathematics involved, apparently, which he found interesting). Later his good humour and patience stood him in good stead as he began to pass on his ringing skills as a teacher. Many ringers in Bourton, Mere, Stourton and Zeals as well as across the wider Mere branch have very fond memories of Frank and he will be very much remembered among us as a true gentleman.
His life long love of sailing arose when he became a Sea Scout whilst at Trowbridge High School and he trained as a Royal Marine at the Commando Royal Marine Training Centre at Lympstone – serving in Egypt, Malaya, Norway (ski training) and on board the Ark Royal. He married his wife, Jan, in Lagos in 1956 and they had three children, a daughter and two sons. They lived in Nigeria until their return to England in 1964 where Frank worked in marketing – in particular at Scottish Widows where he met and worked with photographer David Bailey and actress Deborah Moore (daughter of Sir Roger) to launch the ‘cloaked widow’ advert for television.
On retirement, as well as bell ringing, Frank continued to sail and became a volunteer for the Jubilee Sailing Trust which gave people with disabilities the chance to sail on a tall ship (The Lord Nelson). Even into his seventies, Frank could be found up the rigging and working the sails!
In 1992 Frank became a member of the Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers and Tower Captain at Bourton (when part of the North Dorset branch). In November of the same year the Mere Branch was formed – partly from the North Dorset branch – Frank was at the inaugural meeting and was elected as Branch Treasurer, a post he held until 2011 when he and his wife moved to a smaller property at Abbotsbury. Here, as ever, Frank remained active in ringing and he got the bells there ringing again (after a lengthy break), having first recruited a band and taught them to ring – most were present to ring at his funeral. His connection with and support for the Mere branch was maintained however, as after stepping down as Treasurer he became the Branch’s Independent Financial Examiner, a post which he continued to hold right up until his death.
A few years ago, he and his wife moved from Abbotsbury to Poundbury (so as to be closer to shops and the hospital) and then, shortly before Christmas 2024, into a care home, where Frank passed peacefully away on the 29th January.
