During his lifetime, former soldier, Richard Aylmer (from Devonport) kindly donated almost £60,000 to the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF), the Army’s national charity. Following his recent sad death, Richard’s wife Marelyn also generously chose to make a donation in his memory.

“The ABF was important to Richard, so I felt donating in his memory would be a good thing to do,” said Marelyn.  “A soldier himself, the Army was instrumental in helping Richard develop other opportunities in his life, for which he was always very grateful.”

“Along with other family members, Richard’s father and grandfather had both been soldiers, so it is not surprising that Richard would follow the same route.”

Richard commissioned into the Royal Artillery regiment in 1952 and served for seven years.  During this time, he also became a competitive skier.  “He was certain he wouldn’t have been able to do that without his Army training, which allowed him to hone his skills,” said Marelyn. “As a Captain, he entered many Army skiing competitions as part of the field regiment ski teams.”

Also during his time as a soldier, Richard competed in the 50km Cross Country Ski Race at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics in Italy.  “He broke a ski early in the race, but stoically finished!” Marelyn explained. “A few weeks later, he competed in the World Military Skiing Championships and was the second-best of the three British entrants.”

Richard left the Army in 1959.  He and Marelyn married in 1964, after meeting at Rannoch School in Perthshire.

“He was a teacher and I was the secretary to the Headmaster,” Marelyn said. “He was a fast-mover though, because I joined during the same summer term in which he left the school!”

Richard and Marelyn both had strong family values, and their two sons, Christopher and Kenneth, were brought up in loving homes.  “We had a happy family life,” said Marelyn.  “We took the boys on downhill skiing holidays, and our grandchildren all ski too.  That’s part of Richard’s legacy.”

A fervent lover of the arts, Richard had many different strings to his bow.  “He was an all-rounder with so many talents,” said Marelyn.  “Richard authored geography booklets and was an artist who painted in oils and pastels – and he was a keen gardener, too,” she said.  “He grew a lot of vegetables, because as he used to say: ‘you can’t eat flowers!’”

Richard also supported many causes that were close to his heart – including the ABF.

“Richard was a modest person who did a lot of good, quietly in the background,” said Marelyn.  “He supported a lot of charities and had been involved with the ABF for many years.  We were lucky to occupy a fortunate position in life, so helping Army charities felt important to both of us.”

“Donating to a cause you care about is a good thing to do.  And Richard cared about the ABF.”  

“We had a lovely life together,” Marelyn said of her marriage to Richard.  “So my family and I chose to donate to the ABF in Richard’s memory because we wanted to do something good on his behalf.  When you’ve been as fortunate as we have, you feel glad to be able to help those who need it.”