Ralph Power, 1922 – 2010
Ralph Power was one of Brindle’s oldest residents, having been born and bred in the village. He was born in Prospect Cottage on Water Street in the centre of the village in April 1922 and lived there for most of his life, except for four years serving in the Army during the Second World War.
Ralph Power (back left) outside the Brindle Parish Institute, c.1927
The widower was well known in the village for his local knowledge and was made a Honorary Life Member of Brindle Historical Society in 2008. Witnessing many changes over the years, he stayed loyal to his roots and was asked to open the new Brindle Community Hall in 2006, having lived next to the site since the first building was opened in 1923. Back then his father Charles Power (a veteran of the First World War) seconded the speeches at the opening ceremony but his son, Ralph, went one better when he cut the ribbon of the new hall 83 years later.
Ralph Power served as a soldier during World War II
Ralph Power attended the local school in the village, playing football for the school team in the early 1930’s before leaving to become a Butcher’s Boy at nearby Feniscowles, cycling to work each day. He served as a Driver in the Royal Corps of Signals from late 1942 until early 1946, landing on the Normandy Beaches in France some ten days after D-Day in June 1944. He was part of the column waiting to support airborne troops at Arnhem in Holland between the 17th and 25th September 1944. The following year he crossed the Rhine with the British Army in March 1945 and was one of many Allied troops earmarked to invade the Japanese mainland later that year, but the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima put paid to that; he ended his military service in Palestine in 1946.
Ralph Power outside his home in Brindle, 2007
After the war he returned to his home in Brindle where he met and married his wife May, being married for more than fifty years – they had no children; for most of his working life he worked as a driver for Lancashire County Council in their Highways Dept.
He died peacefully at a nursing home in Whittle-le-Woods on Wednesday, 31st March after a short illness. A few months prior to his death he was featured in ‘Lancashire Life’, reminiscing about his life and times in Brindle.
Speaking about Ralph, Brindle Historical Society Secretary, Steve Williams, said “Ralph was a true character in the village. He had a wicked sense of humour and always had time for everyone – from the children at the local school opposite to locals and visitors alike. It was a privilege knowing him and he will be sadly missed by many in the area”.
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