Tributes paid to Wally Randall as fundraiser for memorial launched

The World War Two veteran, who served as a motor mechanic on the front line at El Alamein, rose to fame in 2016 when the news spread that he was Britain’s oldest poppy seller.

Friend Trevor Roff, a member of the Royal British Legion (RBL) in Leighton Buzzard, said: “He was brilliant. His heart was in the club and the branch. He really did so much. We couldn’t wish for a better chap.

“He paraded every Remembrance Day and I did too, and used to lay a wreath. What can I say? He was an inspiration to the people of Leighton Buzzard.”

Leighton-Linslade town councillor and president of the Leighton Buzzard branch of the Royal British Legion, Mark Freeman, said: “It’s a loss to the town and to the Legion branch. Wally was a guy you couldn’t help but respect. He was a quietly spoken guy, but you knew when you spoke to him that there was sincerity there. If he said something, it was because he meant it.”

Graham Munt, event organiser and founder of the Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard Truck Convoy, said: “The truck convoy is all about raising funds for the military and armed forces, and Wally was the ideal candidate to be able to help us.

“He did the last couple of years and loved it. He was an absolute diamond guy. What a lovely, lovely man he was and he will be missed so much by us all. He was a credit to the town and to everyone who knew him. The Truck Convoy have offered a plaque in his remembrance.”

Former neighbour Peter Spedding said: “I am saddened to hear of the death of Walter Randall. Myself and my family moved to Leighton Buzzard in 1971 and were fortunate enough to live next door to Walter and Margaret in Heath Road until 1997.

“We could not have had better neighbours and the help they gave to us as my family grew to maturity was enormous and to our great benefit.

“He was a man I am proud to have known.”

However, residents are determined to see that Wally’s memory lives on in Leighton Buzzard.

A interim public steering group has been formed with the aim of commissioning a permanent memorial or monument to honour Wally’s life’s work and will hold its first meeting this Thursday.

Members include: Trevor Roff and Dodger Turney, old friends of Wally and members of the Royal British Legion; Susan Endacott of Wilko; Christine Moore of the Leighton Buzzard History, Pictures and Memories Group; Patrick Carberry, fire station lead officer; campaigner Caroline Redwood, who has worked for the Rothschild family; and Michael ‘Mick’ Turney, ex-serviceman and friend of Wally’s.

Chris Keen, who was the poppy seller’s third cousin, said: “My role has been to simply pull this power house together who will engage, as a ‘public led’ steering group, in joined up thinking, liaising with all the necessary local bodies, authorities and local organisations, including the Royal British Legion, the town council, the Freemasons, the Co-operative Society, the military associations and many more, to bring about ‘as a mission’, a fitting and permanent public memorial.

“On Thursday, progress will be made by the committee to establish links and a cooperation with all who should be concerned, which shall, of course, include Wally’s own family.”

A fundraising page for the memorial has already been set up online and gained £140 in donations in a matter of days.

Chris concluded: “I’m terribly sad that Wally’s municipal work and work with the RBL was never recognised at a national level, as it is no more than he deserves.

“I was sad that he was never on the Queen’s Honours list.”

Wally was born in Wing on September 8, 1915, and became the first ever resident in Leighton-Linslade to be conferred the title ‘Honorary Freeman of the Parish’ by the town council.

Residents loved to see Wally sitting in the doorway of Wilko, and during his time in the town he was also a member of the former Leighton-Linslade Urban District Council (chairman 1968-69), a local magistrate, and a member of the Royal British Legion (RBL) for over 50 years, including time as branch president and committee member.

To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/wally-randall-public-subscription-memorial