Bill Ballard, aged 80, was buried at Badsey on 6th February. He was another much loved Badsey character, warm-hearted and sociable (in spite of his deafness). The end came suddenly and apparently painlessly. The previous evening he had been at the British Legion annual dinner, enjoying himself, and seemingly quite normal. He was an expert and extremely industrious market gardener. His illness of two years ago had been rather a trial to a man so active, but it was not long before he was cycling again to his bit of ground every day. He was well-known in both parishes, and liked to attend Wickhamford Church sometimes. The Ballards are an old Badsey family (Bill’s great-grandfather, William, born in Badsey in 1791, was parish clerk). It is good that the name is perpetuated in “Ballards Park”, through Bill’s generosity to the Cricket Club. And the electric lighting in Badsey Church was his memorial gift for Ron, killed in action.
Published in the March 1970 parish magazine.