Edmund – Teddy – was born to Edwin and Muriel Horne in 1935 in Hounslow, Middlesex, the oldest of three brothers.
During the second world war, The family went to live in Birkenhead which was felt to be safer than where they lived close to the Great West Road which was bombed during the war due to the factories being near. His father stayed behind continuing working in the family Estate Agents, and playing his part as an Air Raid Warden.
On their return, Ted went to St Paul’s School where he enjoyed being a part of several different sports teams. Many years later my mother forbade me from playing squash with him any more as we both were so determined to win she was worried one of us, or rather my father, might burst.
After school Ted went to Liverpool as an Apprentice Electrical Engineer and subsequently joined BP, at first working in the Drawing Office.
Once qualified, and on his return South, Ted was turned down for National Service as he had a pin down his thigh as a result of a motor bike accident. However as soon as this was removed he joined The Artists Rifles Regiment, also known as 2 1 SAS. He greatly enjoyed this, with the hard training and many parachute jumps. He always said he did the maximum number of parachute jumps before statistics indicated the odds would be against him for a smooth landing.
In 1962 aged 26 he married Angela. She was only 22, but they had known each other for many years having been dragged by their parents to Rotary dinners and events. Ted resigned from 2 1 SAS but shortly afterwards joined the Royal Engineers BP 503 Reserve Regiment which specialised in work connected with oil. He was required to do a two-week camp each year, and during the time he spent with them he went to Gan in the Indian Ocean, Masirah in the Arabian Ocean, Dubai, Singapore and Germany. Once married, Ted continued studying at night school and instead of being on her own in the evening, Angela went along too and did Cake Icing.
In 1968 the first “Lump” arrived and the family moved from Banstead to Oxshott. In 1972 Ted had to give up the Royal Engineers as he moved with Angela and me to Mongstad in Norway for 2 years.
I remember him packing up the car, putting my doll, Rosebud in my car seat, and heading for the ferry across the North Sea. A short while later on my fourth birthday, mummy, Susie the Cat and I followed him to a prefab house on stilts in the middle of nowhere! Daddy did buy mummy a beautiful ruby ring before they went!
Soon after the family returned to England it expanded and the absolute apple of his eye, “Porridge” arrived.
Ted continued to work for BP but was now a project Engineer regularly travelling to Milford Haven, Grangemouth, and also spending two months in Abu Dhabi. He then went to Belfast and worked in the Harland and Wolfe Shipyard for several months, after this it was Aberdeen followed by several months in Hull. He would come home every two weeks to see the family for the weekend before catching the early flight with clean, ironed shirts back on a Monday morning.
His final trip abroad was to Japan for ten months, where he really enjoyed throwing himself into the culture and the experience of living there.
As a family, we would place bets on how long daddy would actually be away. A bachelor posting was up to three months, so the company didn’t have to pay for boarding school, and moving the family abroad. Funnily enough at three months, the time was always extended.
On returning from Japan at aged 56 Ted went into the London office to see what was next – early retirement!
Fly fishing for trout, a hobby he started in Norway and continued in Scotland, saw Ted more often at the lakes in Abinger, Surrey. Friends and neighbours became used to being presented with a trout or two when he came home. A lifelong hobby since the age of nine, was his model aeroplane making and flying, and many a weekend was spent checking the wind and then hopefully going “up on the Downs”. It was here he met others with the same interest and some became good friends with many of them over the years. Many a time he would come home excited with a smashed plane that had crashed, because now it needed remaking – even better than before.
Aeromodelling became serious sport once Ted retired, and Angela’s utility room became a full scale workshop filled with plans, balsa wood, tools, spray paints and planes. He became well known for his ten foot wing span Fillons Glider and at the indoor meet he always needed to shave off another half a gram trying to make a plane lighter. Daddy judged but didn’t take part in contests as his quiet reply was “I like to compete against myself”.
Having lived in Oxshott since 1969, Ted decided on retirement to become involved with the community. He became the voluntary Buildings Manager for the Oxshott Village Centre for many years, and eventually became a trustee. He was involved with the Oxshott Christmas Fair and always helped with Angela’s WI jumble sales. He was the chief electrical checker and seller. When the dealers came in half an hour early and said “how much?” Daddy would say £5, they would try and beat him down by saying £3? At which point daddy would say the price just increased – £6 – always wanting to get the most for the charity.
I think for the longest time he was also chief table and chair putter outer for the WI amongst many other things.
There are many memories, of learning French verbs – Drummed in so deep they will never be forgotten and the embarrassment of him telling my French teacher how to teach French verbs. Physics? Let’s not go there. Diving on his back into the pool on holiday and going to the ice cream parlour, trips to visit him where he was working. He was very practical and the number of kitchens that were fitted, cupboards built, electrical jobs done. Between Angela, Alexandra and myself, we were very good assistants.
He insisted his daughters knew how to change plugs, and we weren’t allowed to learn to drive until we could check the oil in the car, tyre pressure etc, use the contents of a tool box, but we chose not to follow his over enthusiastic bush pruning skills.
Ted loved his computer, and was excellent at typing with his right, first finger.
In 1967 he followed his father into the Worshipful Company of Cooks. Due to work commitments and often being away he was unable to progress onto the court. However, he was very proud to see Alexandra and me progress and join him on to the livery in 2004.
Daddy never actually saw me wear my medal as Master, although I know he was proud and enjoyed seeing all the photos of what I was up to.
He may have been a bit of a stubborn so and so, but no matter what, he loved his family and friends, and considered friends as family. He and Angela taught us right from wrong and the values we hold.
Clearly together, Ted and Angela did something right as they just celebrated their 60th wedding Anniversary in March, exactly a week before he had to leave us. He especially loved his five grandchildren, who no matter how long they had him as theirs, will always hold him dear to them.
Ted was something different to each of us, from Grandpa vampire, fish supplier, finger slicing propeller starter with sound advice, head of the table with a glass of coca cola, and eat and eat and never be full, wear white tie being smart to scruffy, dirty, comfy cords – we loved him and will all remember him in our own way.
