Helen Davis, Handford 1988-1990 (December 2018)

Helen Davis

Helen Davis sadly died on New Years’ Eve (31 Dec 2018) at the age of 46. She had suffered medical issues all her life, culminating in breast cancer in recent months. She attended Lancing for the Sixth Form, arriving in 1988 when her brother Peter also joined the 3rd Form. She left in 1990 before taking up a place the following year at Cambridge to read Economics, including a year’s scholarship in Heidelberg.

When she was able, Helen worked in an actuarial role. Even when quite ill in later years she kept herself busy in her village community just outside Canterbury. She was President of the WI and an active Methodist local preacher, spending the last two years studying at Cliff College, the theological college in the Derbyshire Peak District.

Helen was unmarried but enjoyed the company of a large circle of friends, especially over afternoon tea.  She was a skilled cook, producing mountains of cakes and scones, while she outperformed all comers with her remarkable Lego building skills. Throughout her life she sang in choirs and could recite most of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas from memory. Despite her medical conditions, Helen was determined to live life to the full through her remarkable breadth of gifts and interests.

Peter Davis (Second’s 1988-1993)