Joan Tubbs - I first met Joan in August 2006 when she telephoned me in response to an article I had written that was published in the Surrey Advertiser about Wonersh U3A annual picnic held at Ebernoe on their cricket ground. She asked about U3A and after talking for a while we arranged to meet several times to chat over coffee/tea and cake, Joan liked my home made cakes, she joined Wonersh U3A in September 2006.
We became firm friends and before long she had joined the U3A Family History and Computer user groups that I led. She became so fascinated in genealogy and was soon climbing her own family tree, creating paper charts, I never quite got her to draw them using the computer but she became very excited as she travelled further back in time finding more Tubbs, sadly she never found any close 'living' relatives. Like me she was fascinated in where and how people lived and their occupations which took us well beyond just building trees. We went on to visit together many places of joint interest with Wonersh U3A and by ourselves.
Joan soon became very involved in U3A and gave talks showing her slides, organised and ran the monthly meetings. We also started a photography group where she taught us how to turn 'snaps' into real photographs. I still to this day feel as if she is on my shoulder telling me what to look for and the best angle to take the photograph. She never really liked digital photography although she could understand some of the advantages, where we could manipulate photographs using software to make them better, but she would not do it herself. I helped her with the technical aspects of the group loading everyone's photographs onto a laptop and projecting them on a screen so she could tell us where we were going wrong. Each year we put on show some of our better photographs. Joan taught us how to mount them and display on boards at the annual Wonersh U3A AGM. Joan spent several years with me on the U3A committee.
I was heavily involved in my local village history society (Wonersh) standing on the committee and later becoming their treasurer and main researcher. I started a one-place study (Wonersh) and together we visited Surrey History Centre in Woking where I took photographs of thousands of images of the Wonersh Parish Magazines back to 1884; Wonersh Parish birth, marriage and death certificates; maps and many other items until covid struck to stop this activity. I continued to add as much about the people who spent time in Wonersh to the website and Joan became my typo spotter identifying any mistakes, so I could correct them. Sadly her first fall made this exercise come to an end. Despite my move to Devon I plod on without her and hopefully do not make too many typo mistakes. Joan and I were heavily involved in the arranging the Armistice activities of 2018 held in Wonersh, the whole village eventually came on board making a very successful day. Once again Joan stood on the history society committee with me for several years and helped organise the Wonersh History Society exhibition at the annual village fete. We started the involvement of Wonersh village being part of the National Heritage Week.
Joan introduced me to a local history group called Acorns and they kindly welcomed me into their group. Meetings were every fortnight and sometimes talks were given by a visiting speaker, other times members gave talks. Encouraged by Joan I was asked to give a talk on my one-name study of Greathead which was well received and we were then asked if we could give a talk on Wonersh. I presented this to the group which encouraged them to come on a guided tour of the village which we gave them with coffee organised in the local pub afterwards. The group seemed to like the pub so much they now hold their annual Christmas lunch there. Sadly covid once again had an impact and this group turned to having Zoom meetings. I could never get Joan interested in Zoom, she felt her hearing aids stopped her enjoying it, but I think it may have been a little too much technology for her and sadly I could not assist as we were unable to meet face to face. As someone said to me getting Joan to use a mobile phone was difficult enough getting her to text or use other methods of communication was definitely A Level stuff!!!
Joan was very enthusiastic and supportive of my move to Devon and I kept sending her photographs of the cottage and surroundings hoping one day she would visit. Whenever I returned to Surrey, often once a month we would meet on her doorstep, me standing in the hebe patch, for a chat or catch up with regular phone calls. I often turned up with tins of plums that she could not seem to get for herself, and books on places of interest for her Tubbs ancestors. Later when she was in hospital and we could not meet so I would regularly phone but her hearing and speech were poor, so I added letters to our communication links.
During our time together it seems strange to say but I only went inside her home twice, parking was always difficult, so I either picked her up in my car and took her to whatever we were doing that day, or she came to my house often staying for meals.
Joan also joined me in joining Bramley and Shamley Green History Societies and attended their meetings and outside activities with me.
Joan was also a member of the RSPB and helped at their jumble sales.
Joan spoke her mind and liked to do things her way but she was a valued, reliable, good friend with a good heart who would volunteer to help me with anything I chose to do. Regularly I hear or read something or something happens I say to myself I must remember that and tell Joan, but I can't do that now. I miss her.