In January we received the sad news of the death of Arthur Tait who has died at the age of 86 after a short illness.
Arthur Tait was chairman of The Friends of Brompton Cemetery for over 20 years and never lost faith in his ambition to achieve a major restoration of Brompton. He worked tirelessly for decades with the Friends and the Royal Parks to achieve £6.2 million in grants in 2016. He had the great satisfaction of seeing Brompton transform from a near wilderness, to a restored cemetery with a new visitor centre and café, playing an active role in modern society. In recognition of this achievement, the UK government awarded him the BEM (British Empire Medal for civil services worthy of recognition by the crown) in 2019.
Arthur was also a wonderfully diplomatic chairman of the National Federation of Cemetery Friends for more than a decade. I well remember benefiting from his wise and patient advice on several occasions.
He was also a staunch supporter of our Association, and firmly supported the European Routes Project.
Our thoughts and sympathies go to his wife Ann and his family at this sad time.
John Moffat UK Steering Group member