Keith Trevor Hardman

Keith Trevor Hardman

09.11.1946 - 29.01.2021

Keith passed away peacefully on 29th January 2021 aged 74 years. He will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

Molly Warrington

11.03.2021

Keith was a much valued friend for over fifty years, as well as godfather to my son, Simon. He had a terrific sense of humour, was always interested in what one had to say and was one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. His visits were keenly looked forward to my children, who recalled how he would let them ride round the close where we lived on the roof of his car! Whenever he came to Cambridge we would spend hours browsing in the bookshops, and then I would leave him in the specialist music shop on Green Street for further browsing, until I dragged him away.
I shall miss his warmth, his humour and his unfailing cheerfulness.

Alison Woodfield

10.03.2021

Having worked with Keith for about 10 years at WSCC I have many fond memories of him both in and out of office hours. Outside work memories are more fun and included trips out to Brighton to see Neil’s panto and, of course, trips to the pub!!
My husband and I would occasionally bump into Keith in Chichester after he’d retired always stop for a chat and a catch up. We were both very sad to hear that he’d died.
He was a gentle, kind and lovely man.

Christopher Cousins

04.03.2021

A valued colleague and a good friend.

Sue Cooper

04.03.2021

I worked with Keith for some years at West Sussex County Council, a lovely chap and true gentleman, always willing to help out with any queries I had on any work issues, and always able to find the right piece of paper in all the piles of files on his desk! My condolences to the family.

Nas Baluch

03.03.2021

Keith was an important member of the Wednesday crew at the Planetarium where he volunteered.
He was always whistling as he filled the hot water flasks ready for us all to sit down and share our catch up of the weeks events.
He was such a lovely man. We shared such fun times and he will be missed.

Alastair Ratcliffe

03.03.2021

Keith was my Godfather and best friend to my Dad, Nigel, who sadly passed away when I was 7. I never got to enjoy the two of them keeping each other's company, but Keith continued to visit us in Guildford for many years, and I have a lot of fond memories of my chats with him.
He was always chuckling! That laugh will stay with me forever. I'm so glad I shared those times with him, and I will miss him a great deal.

Sally

03.03.2021

You were such a lovely man to work with and I will always remember the support that you gave all of your colleagues.

Robin Edwards

02.03.2021

I first met Keith in the 1990s. We were both members of the South East Regional Planning (SERPLAN) Demography Sub Group, Keith I think representing Berkshire at that time, myself Hampshire.
I'm not sure how we discovered we had a shared interest in classical music, but as the meetings ended in late afternoon, he and I, together with the Hertfordshire representative, usually repaired to a delightful pub behind Buckingham Palace where we could indulge our enthusiasm for real ale, and have in depth discussions on classical music.
I retired in 2007, but since then I have seen Keith regularly at concerts in Portsmouth and at the Turner Sims Concert Hall, University of Southampton. Post concert sessions in a congenial local hostelry with his friend and colleague Bob Connell and my friend Mervyn Prior were a regular feature of these occasions.
Keith was always good company, very knowledgable but never pretentious, and with a great sense of humour.
He was in short, a genuine nice guy and I'm pleased to have known him and very sorry to have lost him

Joyce & Alastair Ratcliffe

02.03.2021

Keith was one of life's nice guys, great company, and a very good family friend.
He will be much missed.

Ray and Jenny Bowers

02.03.2021

Keith and I were work colleagues and friends for many years at Berkshire County Council. More recently Jenny and I met Keith on his trips up from Chichester to Reading for RSO concerts. On a few occasions Keith stayed with us overnight so that we could indulge in a jar or two. Always great company. We shall miss him.

Angela Towle

02.03.2021

Keith was a dear friend for many years since we first met at a Spanish evening class in Reading. I still have a collection of letters and postcards (spanning the war memorial at Hartlepool to the dunes of the Namib desert) that I enjoy re-reading for their wit and elegant turn of phrase. After I moved to Canada in 1995 I only saw him once, 10 years ago, when we met up for a walk on the south downs and I took this photo. I have so many happy memories of us talking for hours in pubs, and restaurants after everyone else had left, interspersed with largely aimless wanderings through the streets of London. RIP Keith, you were one of the best.

Dave and Sandy Hogan

28.02.2021

We first met Keith at Southampton University in 1965 and had three years of friendship and fun. The 'Gang of Three' Dave, Ian and Keith, had adjoining rooms every year in our hall of residence. The final year involved the additional challenge of self-catering, with much mirth generated by the seemingly endless diet of baked beans. Our friendship continued through the years that followed. We and our children always looked forward to his vists to us here in Exeter because of their laughter and silliness. He was their 'favourite uncle'. Keith 's Christmas card was one of the highlights of the festive season, with his humourous comments on children, cats and world affairs.

We shall miss him deeply and will never forget him. He never varied in his friendship and kindness to us.

Steve Bailes and Liz Long

26.02.2021

We knew Keith at Berkshire. Friend, colleague, hockey teammate and above all drinking companion. He was always good company and we missed him when he moved to Chichester. We saw too little of him after that, the last time being at a surprise celebration for Steve’s 60th Birthday, at the end of the London to Brighton cycle ride. Keith met us there having negotiated a disrupted Sunday rail service with his typical stoicism.

Graham Ashworth

26.02.2021

Keith was a very good friend and also a work colleague when we lived in Reading. We spent many evenings in the pubs of Reading. We both did the Postgraduate Town Planning course for 3 years at the then Oxford Polytechnic and spent many evenings in the pubs of Oxford. We went to Moscow together in 1980. After we moved to Bournemouth and Keith to Chichester, we would occasionally meet up in Bournemouth, Chichester or Southampton and have a few pints. He was always wonderful company. Great sense of humour, very knowledgeable, unpretentious and totally genuine. Someone who I was lucky to know and who I’ll always fondly remember .

Pete

24.02.2021

Keith was one of my Wednesday team at South Downs Planetarium. He was always happy helpful and friendly. A lovely man, sadly missed.

IAN ROPER

23.02.2021

Keith and I met at Glen Eyre Hall, University of Southampton, in October 1965 where we both studied Geography, I with Geology and he with History. Dave Hogan [Botany with Geology] made up a trio of friends who spent two years in Hall together and one year in the self catering flats that had been built at "The Glen". He had a good sense of humour and was very knowledgeable over a range of subjects. However he did not share an interest in "The Archers" that Dave and I had, and could get quite irritated by that programme, which in those days was a mine of useful information on farming matters. When I acquired a car the three of us would get out to the coast and the New Forest, walking or on personal field geology field trips. Keith and I also carried out a village survey for our Urban Geography unit, which involved a lot of long cycle rides. Keith took a nasty tumble on the hill above Portsmouth on one of those trips, and on another a farmer's wife took pity on us and cooked bacon and beans to help us on our way.
There are not many photos of Keith from those days. He shied away from the camera, but I have found one showing Keith [left] me , Sandy and Dave Hogan, just before I got married in 1969.
Rest in Peace Keith - they don't make them like you any more!

Andrew and Veronica Challinger

22.02.2021

I (Andrew) first met Keith at South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell. It must have been in the late 70's. I went along to the newly formed Early Music Group. It could be described as a motley collection of individuals, some with considerable knowledge and expertise, others whose enthusiasm was balanced by their limited technique. Keith played the recorder but soon graduated to crumhorn. The group made progress and played at many different events, often at The Park with other ensembles based there, sometimes at other venues, such as Dorney Court and Wellington College for medieval banquets. There was even one at a London hotel in Grosvenor Square.
In later years, we would sometimes come across Keith and his recorder at informal musical gatherings and at events arranged through the Society of Recorder Players. He also supported many of our concerts with the baroque group Cambiata. Keith was a am who always saw the funny side. Cheerful and good humoured, he was a gentle man and a true friend who will be much missed.

Alan and Rosie Lodwick

20.02.2021

Like others we remember Keith’s gentleness and humour. Nothing was to be taken too seriously which made the badminton and cricket so much more enjoyable. Keith also loved travel, sometimes to unusual destinations including Mongolia if we remember correctly.

We both escaped from Berkshire County Council at the same time, just before it privatised and then abolished itself. I got a planning job in Mauritius and Rosie and I went to live there with our young family. After a few months we were surprised - to say the least - to get a phone call from Keith saying that he was ‘just round the corner’ from us and had stayed overnight in a local guest house. We had no idea he was coming. We were, however, delighted to see him and had him as our guest for a week. He was a great hit with the children, who called him ‘Quiche’. Thereafter he would always sign off his letters to us as ‘Q’.

We have very fond memories of Keith. He would have he brightened up the lives of everyone he met.

David Edbury

16.02.2021

Many happy memories of a very gentle man with a great sense of humour. Very good at pub quizzes as he seemed to know everything.
We played badminton together for many years which he loved especially the pint or two afterwards in the Bell pub. Miss you Keith.

Ann Mills. Chichester Planetarium

16.02.2021

Rest in Peace dear Keith,
We will always remember your gentle ways and warm smile.
Thank you for your friendship, the whole team will miss you.

Sally Hamilton

16.02.2021

Happy memories of earlier days, when Keith was a close friend of my husband Brian and me. Also think he was godfather to our son Luke, although memory has faded a bit! Such a lovely guy, and his love of music was outstanding. He used to come up to Reading to support concerts by Langtree Sinfonia. He always stayed over with us, and I have lovely memories of his big laugh and exclamations of 'good Lord!' as something tickled him. It was wonderful to have known him when he was young and well.

Philip Glue

15.02.2021

You were always a good friend Keith and fun to be with. We had some good times together playing Badminton bowls and volunteering at the Planetarium and especially at the Bell Inn afterward. Happy days
RIP Phil

Martin Bourne

13.02.2021

I first met Keith at Berkshire County Council and soon became aware of his intelligence and wit both in the office and away from work over a pint or two in various public houses in the Reading area.
He was always amusing and enjoyed brightening up the ordinary with a degree of artful embellishment. When he was the organiser of after-work badminton his weekly phone call to check availability always started with: “Do you wish to play…” – pause – “badders?”, delivered in affected ‘received pronunciation’. On the badminton court he wielded his racquet with great flourishes as if it might be a fencing foil and on the cricket pitch his deliveries, which involved many swirls and loops of his bowling arm before he loosed the ball, would best be described as in the ‘Baroque’ style.
As friends and family will know he was a great lover of classical music. At a concert, however, it never paid to end up sitting next to Keith as his vigorous style of applauding mean that you were lucky to lose your programme off your lap and not your hearing…
After he moved to Chichester I enjoyed several waking weekends in the company of Keith, Brian Hamilton and Andrew Graham. They were great fun but it was always a challenge to keep up – with his ground-eating strides on the walks, with his erudition and with his ability to down a pint of ale in short order.
I consider myself fortunate to have crossed paths with such a bright, interesting and singular man.

David & Sheila Keene

12.02.2021

Keith was a valued friend and colleague in the early days of our planning careers at Berkshire County Council. His wry wit and mischievous sense of humour was never far from the surface and brightened up many a day in the office. We remember him as a keen sportsman and always a convivial companion at the Sports and Social Club bar in Sonning. His gentle presence will be sadly missed.


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