Henry Wild
In October 2005 Knapton lost a real friend, and ambassador for the village, Henry Wild. Henry had become a font of local knowledge, he was a charming man who always had the time to talk to anyone, always ready to offer information and advice. Henry was blessed with a long and full life, and through that life he always had the interest of Knapton close to his heart. His calming demeanour, and considered thoughts are deeply missed by those who knew him.
Henry was buried on November 2nd, 2005, in the churchyard of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The following is the Reverend Cannon Roger MacPhee's eulogy at his service
John Henry Wild
"Nearly 94 years ago - on November 19th 1911- a baby boy was born in a cottage just round the comer at the top of the street in Knapton. A week last Friday John Henry Wild died very peacefully in that same cottage, never in his nearly 94 years of life having called anywhere else home. And in those 94 years there is so much that this village - and individuals in it - should be thanking God for in the life of Henry Wild.
It's amazing to think of all the changes in the village that Henry must have seen. When he was born, his cottage had no running water, no electricity and so no radio or television. Hall Lane was, I am told, not fully tarmacadamed and there were few, if any, cars in the village.
Henry was the eldest of five children, of which only Olive, his youngest sister, is still alive. His father worked as a gardener and groom to Miss Robinson at Knapton House, and the cottage was a tied cottage that went with the job. Henry and all his sisters were educated at what was then called Knapton Elementary School, and I'm told that they had a very happy, if tough, childhood, and we can thank god for that happy childhood. It was as a boy that Henry was introduced to the life of the Church. He sang as a choirboy here, and, once his voice had broken, he pumped the organ from behind the curtain - and, I'm told, more than once fell asleep in an overlong sermon causing some consternation when the last hymn was announced. Henry never lost his love for the church. He loved to come particularly to evensong where he sat in his seat in the comer of the back pew. He had a firm belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and he believed earnestly in the power of prayer.
Henry left school just after his fourteenth birthday and worked at first selling groceries and green grocery from the back of a pony and trap, but as he approached his fifteenth birthday he was apprenticed to Mr. Small, the village carpenter and undertaker, to learn his trade, and his love of carpentry and working with "proper wood" never left him.
In 1932 he helped to build Mundesley holiday camp and from 1934 until the war he worked as a carpenter for Gotts of Mundesley. Both his parents died in the early 30's, and so Henry, as the eldest of the family, took it upon himself to look after his three sisters. They could have been thrown out of the tied cottage, but Miss Robinson kindly let them all stay on, as long as Henry could pay the rent. He saw all three of his sisters married from that cottage before he married his beloved Vera in 1939 - a marriage which lasted for over 60 years and in which Henry and Vera were totally wrapped in each others lives -and we can surely thank God that. Henry enjoyed such a happy and long marriage.
Henry was called up into the army in 1941 and saw active service with the Royal Artillery in France, at Arnhem, and then crossing the Rhine into Germany. On demob he returned to his skilled job as a carpenter with Gotts.
June was born in 1951, and I know would want to thank God for all her memories of Henry as a father. But just after June's birth, Henry was diagnosed with a brain tumour which in those days was virtually a sentence of death. Fortunately, through quick diagnosis and treatment he was operated on in August 1951 at Barts - which had moved to Hill End, St. Albans, to facilitate repairs due to wartime bombing. Prayers were said in this church for Henrys survival, and amazingly Henry not only came through the operation one of the earliest of its kind done in this country- but has never had any serious illness or injury since then -and for that we can certainly thank God. Indeed Henry was back in Knapton by October 1951 and was back at work soon afterwards. Henry went on to work for Grays of Past on until his retirement in 1976.
But much more should this village be thanking God for all that Henry did for the village particularly in the years after the war. Henry was elected to the Parish Council in 1948, and never officially left the Council until April of this year - 57 years service to this village. Henry not only started, but built the Men's Club in 1950 (with a little help from other villagers, including other Wilds) on land donated by Miss Robinson. He was a lifelong member of the Men's Fellowship, served on the Village Hall Committee from its inception, where he was always willing to do odd little repair jobs, and, as mentioned earlier, was a lifelong supporter of the church. He helped to run the village allotments, and many will remember seeing Henry carrying buckets and watering cans from his cottage up to his allotment. Outside the village he was well known for his Saturday evening visits to the Haigh Club and, particularly, for his Sunday lunchtime visits to The Ship, cycling down and, some would say, wobbling back.
As I've already said, Henry was a firm believer in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and so was not afraid of dying. He spoke to me many times of his rejoining Vera some day, and today he will certainly be rejoining her in this churchyard in body, and, we believe, in another place in Spirit. He died as he would have wanted to. Having watched the raising of the flag and the lighting of the beacon on Trafalgar day, he simply went up to bed and fell asleep. No long illness, no fuss to anybody else - Henry would never have wanted that. And we can certainly thank God for that.
Last Friday's North Norfolk News put it succinctly in one of its headlines - 'Parish mourns village stalwart'. Yes, Knapton certainly mourns the passing of Henry Wild, but surely, much, much more importantly, Knapton thanks God for the life of Henry Wild."