Joan Clemerson of Hill Farm, Middleton, passed away peacefully at home on 11 November, aged 89.
The Clemersons have owned Hill Farm since 1967, with their beautiful Austrian Haflinger Ponies in the adjacent field. Joan was a bell ringer at Cottingham Church, and her funeral will be held at the Church at 10.30am on Tuesday 25 November. A Memory GIving page has been set up, with donations invited for the Woodgreen Pets Charity: https://www.memorygiving.com/joanmarianclemerson
Remembering Joan
Joan was the only child of Bill and Eve Cooper and lived at Shaw Lane, Markfield on a chicken farm. There were only two houses together and the next house was half a mile away which was her uncle Joe’s, who ran a dairy farm.
Joan as a girl would put a hen in her doll’s pram and push the hen round the yard. Her father made a swing for her from some ploughing chains and hung it from the apple tree in the yard for her. Uncle Joe would take Joan on his milk round she would have to run and jump onto the cart, as the horse was not stopping, being full of oats!
Joan as a teenager played tennis at Copt Oak and rang the church bells, ringing a number of peals in the North Leicestershire Area. Joan met Peter, her husband to be, at Copt Oak Tennis Club. Joan played tennis till the age of 73 at the Corby bubble.
Joan and Peter married in 1957 at Copt Oak Church. On honeymoon, they rode down to Naples in Italy on a motorbike with a sidecar. In those days, you could not drive onto the ferry, the motorbike and sidecar had to be loaded by crane. Peter was very nervous about the motorbike having no form of handbrake. One night in Italy, they pitched the tent at the side of the road. Joan and Peter were woken by a tank going by. The Italian tank crew whistled, shouted and laughed as they went by.
Their son Charles laughs about the trip across Europe in a Hillman Imp, a car no larger than a Ford Fiesta 1,200 cc. They travelled across Europe with the Imp having a one wheeled trailer and a roof rack. It reminds Charles of a snail pulling a trailer.
In 1965, Joan and Peter had a horse riding holiday in Austria, travelling to a different farm each day over the mountains. Joan fell in love with the Haflinger Pony and Joan has had Haflingers at Hill Farm since 1967. Joan rode Haflingers and when she could no longer ride, she drove them in a cart. Joan took an interest in Haflingers right up to her end. Joan would out look at Dorel through the lounge window as she was moved on the hoist from her bed to her chair. I think Dorel wishes to say a final good bye to Joan.
In 1970, Joan and Peter had a log cabin built at Hill Farm as they loved the houses in Austria. Joan farmed about 60 sheep and at lambing time the house could look like a maternity unit for lambs. Joan was not frightened to get stuck in delivering lambs and milking ewes.
Joan used ring the bells at Cottingham Church. Charles is pleased to hear that the bells are being rung again. Joan and Peter took the church bells to Loughborough Foundry for repair in the horse trailer. Horace a local carpenter cut a hole in the floor of the church tower so they could be lowered to the ground. Ron Claypole used his tractor to load the bells into the horse trailer.
Joan died at home as she had wished. Charles tried to wake Joan but she had passed away peacefully in her sleep.
Charles would like to thank Lindsey, Magda and Chloe of Homeinstead for all their help in looking after Joan. Charles believes that Joan would not have able to remain at home without their help.
May she rest in peace.