Donation will keep stalwart's legacy alive

The Craster community was left in shock earlier this year when popular and much-loved Joyce Shaw died unexpectedly in April.

She was chairman of Craster Community Trust and had been a stalwart of the village-hall committee for many years.

She played a leading role in many aspects of village life, such as the WI and lifeboat.

She was secretary of the parish council for some 20 years, before becoming a councillor in her own right.

Following her death, her family has donated some money, which will go towards Craster Memorial Hall.

Trust chairman Michael Craster said: “Her passing leaves a major gap in our lives. She always said that she would ‘die in harness’, and this was indeed what she did.

“It was very generous of her family to mark her link to the Trust with the donations from her memorial service; and in turn it is proposed to mark that substantial donation, and her memory, by the installation of a new projector and sound system to better equip the hall, of which she was such a strong champion, with the means to facilitate today’s functions.”

The Trust has numerous streams of activities, including the Memorial Hall and the play park. In its annual report, Mr Craster said that the play park is two decades old and life has moved on, in terms of its use (there are now very few small children in the village) and its equipment. The committee is trying to address these issues. He added new fencing around the ‘kick-about area’ had been a success.