This site is a tribute to Norman Swadling, who was born on 01 January 1925 and died on the 6th June 2017. Husband of Audrey Joan Swadling born 6th October 1926 and died 9th February 2015. Father of Dawn Beanland born 19th June 1966.
Norman was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, He was the youngest of three children for his parents…both his sister Dolly and brother Sid have already passed away.
He saw active service during the war…volunteering for the Royal Navy…and serving in the Fleet Air Arm…ending up as a Petty Officer…it is the equivalent rank of a Sergeant in the Army. He was based overseas in Mombasa and Sri-Lanka…so lucky enough not to be on the front line…so Norman always said he was fortunate to have a “Good War”.
After he left the Navy, he took a job as a toolmaker for Leyland…until he retired when he was 64…but he was an active man and didn’t really settle into retirement very well…so he went back to work at a much smaller company until they went into liquidation…by which stage he was ready to hang up his cap.
Now from the age of 14, Norman has loved dancing. So, it is no surprise to hear that it was at a dance in the early 50s, that he met a young lady who he would spend over 50 years with…I am of course talking about his beloved Audrey…with the happy couple marrying on the 5th June 1954…and they stayed together until she sadly passed away in February 2005.
And married life made our keen cyclist…who would regularly cycle from Birmingham to Worcestershire with his wife on their tandem…well it made him a proud and loving father…a man who would do anything for his daughter Dawn. Including taking her Ice Staking when she was young….and staying with her at competitions until she had finished…even though they sometimes ended at two o’clock in the morning…only to get home and in bed for a couple of hours of sleep…before getting up to be in work by 7am…like I say…Norman was a dedicated and loving dad! And he wasn’t just a bystander…oh no…he got stuck in and learnt to ice skate himself.
He would do anything for Dawn…although if we are honest, he didn’t really like the music coming from the rock concerts that he also used to take her to!
And over the years the family have enjoyed many holidays together to Malta, Spain and the Far East…and made many friends from belonging to a charitable organisation…The Loyal Order of the Moose….so Beetle Drives, Cheese and Wine evenings and Car Rallies were the order of the day.
Now talking of Cars…well Norman loved his trusted old white Austin Maestro…so he was devastated when it was written off after being in a local flood. The water had risen rapidly…so Norman was forced to wade in and sit in the car; waist high in water; so he could steer the wheel whilst it was towed out by a tractor. He really did love that car and in his opinion, he never did find a better one; even though it was mainly held together by fibreglass 😊.
And when not at work, Norman enjoyed many happy hours creating a beautiful garden. He loved his Roses and Alstomerias…(which is also known as Lily of the Incas)…as well as growing runner beans. And he spent many hours in his greenhouse, planning and neutering just about any seed he could get hold of.
And after Audrey died, well Norman was a little lost…until he was convinced to return to dancing…and through that he was fortunate enough to find love and companionship again in the arms of Joan…a lady who looked after him beautifully.
And the couple danced together for many years…and enjoyed some lovely holidays…including going back to Sri-Lanka with Dawn and Nigel…with apart from other things, the intention of seeing his old Naval Base…although that wasn’t to be because a high ranking officer was visiting and the base was on shut down.
Norman was a lovable, dependable, honest and genuine man and fantastic father.
He is missed so much every day.
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