Tributes paid to 'giant of Aldborough Hatch' Ron Jeffries

Ron, a former magistrate and perpetual campaigner, was a community stalwart who was passionate about the environment and protecting Fairlop Waters.

He was also the Ilford Recorder's biggest fan who regularly sent in photos and articles and friends joked that he was embarking on a new job as a roving reporter.

%image(15047501, type="article-full", alt="Ron with his beloved wife Yvonne, who passed away six years ago.")

In May Ron paid tribute to his late wife Yvonne, who passed away six years ago, in the Guardian and wrote about a tree they planted together at St Peter's church.

He wrote: "We were married for 57 years. This tree remains a special connection to her: it was she who helped me to plant and nurture a glorious and loving thing of great beauty."

Ron was a founding member of the Aldborough Hatch Defence Association (AHDA), a residents' group, working in partnership with Redbridge Council to protect Fairlop Waters.

He had a leading role in a 10 year battle to successfully campaign against the development of the London City All-weather Racecourse.

%image(15047502, type="article-full", alt="Ron Jeffries laid down to stop a development from going forward.")

At the beginning of lockdown he reinvented St Peter's broadsheet, which he had been responsible for the last 30 years, into The Aldborough - a weekly information and news sheet to keep people informed throughout the pandemic.

Rev Kate Lovesey said: "He will be sadly missed here at St Peter's and in Aldborough Hatch.

"He was often to be seen around the Hatch visiting his friends checking on them even during these times on his scooter which he named 'The Milk Float' from his days editing for the Milk Industry magazine."

%image(15047504, type="article-full", alt="Recently Ron could be seen on his 'Milk Float'")

Cllr John Howard, who grew up around the corner from Ron called him "a giant in Aldborough Hatch" who was immensely proud of the place he lived in.

"He was always fair and was never short of a friendly word or a stern correction if he thought we needed it.

"He always focused on how to make the area better; whether that was through charity, litter picks or standing up for what he thought was right."

%image(15047506, type="article-full", alt="Wes Streeting said if it weren't for Covid restrictions St Peter's Church would be packed to the rafters to pay tribute to Ron.")

Ilford North MP Wes Streeting said: "Ron was such a wonderful, decent man. His commitment to our local community was immeasurable and his loss is felt by all who knew and loved him, as I did.

"I hope that we will be able to come together to celebrate his life once circumstances allow: I have no doubt that the church would have been packed to the rafters, such was the love for him in Aldborough Hatch and far beyond.”

%image(15047507, type="article-full", alt="Ron in defiant mood to see off the gravel extraction.")

Council leader Jas Athwal called Ron: "a local stalwart, passionate campaigner and genuinely lovely person."

Cllr Howard Berlin, who got to know Ron during the Oakfield Playing Fields campaign, said: "He was a wonderful man and we will all miss his passion, humour and brilliant photography."

Cllr Linda Huggett also remarked on his photography and said: "I still have some of the amazing Christmas cards he made. They were so good I could not bear to part with them.

"I shall remember him with fondness as he was an extremely decent man who cared deeply about the community where he lived."

Church warden Lee Hawkes who served in the choir since 1979 when he was six years old recalled how Ron would behave like a naughty child during practice.

%image(15047510, type="article-full", alt="Ron is fourth on the top row eclipsed by another chorister. He joined the choir at St Peter's at seven years old.")

He said: "He would whisper something in your ear to make you laugh and then sit with completely straight face while the indomitable Choir Mistress would roast whoever was causing a nuisance."

At the same time Ron had a meticulous attention to detail about the way things should be done in the church.

He was lovingly referred to as Head Server years after he stepped down from that role as he was not afraid to chastise anyone for not sticking to church rules.

Lee added: "Ron had one of the purest tenor voices I've ever heard and to this day I aspire to be the chorister he was.

"To hear him sing the tenor solo of Olivet to Calvary made your neck hair rise up.

"His voice will live on in my memory and his spirit like dear Yvonne’s is in the very fabric of St Peter’s."

Suzanne Batey, who first met Ron in the mid-80s when he was Chairman of Greater London North East Scouts, recalled his "endless supply of stories" which kept everyone amused.

%image(15047511, type="article-full", alt="Ron Jeffries outside "campaign" HQ in Aldborough Hatch")

"His passion and knowledge shone through and his book Aldborough Hatch: The Village in the Suburbs is an essential history of the area."

Appointed as a Justice of the Peace in 1980, Ron sat at Redbridge Magistrates' Court for twenty-three years, serving on the Juvenile and Family Panels, and the Lord Chancellor's Area Advisory Committee.

Elected as Bench Chairman (1996 to 2000), he launched the Court Drug Initiative for drug-related offenders in conjunction with NHS health providers, obtained funding in the late 1990s to appoint the first court-based drug worker at a London Magistrates' Court, and expanded the Mentally Disordered Offenders' Scheme.

%image(15047512, type="article-full", alt="Ron (centre) as part of St Peter's Morris Men preparing to dance at a flower festival.")

In 2002 he organised the PR for yet another successful campaign — this time to keep Barkingside Magistrates' Court open.

In his retirement, Ron served as a non-executive director for seven years, first with the Redbridge Healthcare NHS Trust and later with the North East London Mental Health NHS Trust.

Ron and Yvonne were volunteers at the Redbridge Night Shelter for the homeless from 1998 to 2009, and cooked for the Cold Weather Shelter for three winters.

Ron is survived by his three children Graham, Richard and Heather and grandchildren.

%image(15047513, type="article-full", alt="Ron started planting daffodils after Yvonne died and has planted thousands each year since then. They now line all of the paths in the churchyard.")