Recollections and tributes submitted to this website appear here.

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From: Linda and Colin Cooper

Age is only a number!

We first got to know Megan when she moved to Woodbridge in the late seventies. We were very impressed by this lady in her early sixties who had recently learned to drive mainly (I think) so she could drive across country to her bungalow in Fishguard! No mean feat on your own. I then had the privelege of working with her in the Sunday School at St John’s Church.
There are few people really I can say who have had such a profound effect on my Christian walk as Megan. It can be easy to remember someone as more ‘saintly’ than they really were but reading the other tributes on this page have reinforced my memories as true. We got to know her best when we went to stay with her in Fishguard with our then toddler, Jonathan. She was so good at keeping him entertained and loved showing us her beloved Pembrokeshire. When we had a daughter in 1982 we knew we wanted Megan as her Godmother. “But I’m too old “ she said “I won’t see her grow up!”. But we knew that however many years the Lord would give her,Megan would pray for Amy. Amy is now 38 and our regret is that she didn’t get to know Megan first hand as we moved miles away. We corresponded every year so she knew what to pray and Megan knew that Amy had committed her life to Jesus and had been serving Him in some of the most deprived areas in Northern England since 2004.
We were to have other holidays with Megan in Fishguard whilst Colin trained for the full time ministry. We heard her stories of moving from place to place; we shared fellowship and fun. I always remember her telling me how exciting it was to move with her husband to another place; to see where and what God would lead them into. It was advice to encourage me because she knew I would face several moves to different places as a Vicars wife. Her example and positive approach always stayed with me.
Why were we not surprised when she told us she’d taken on the youth group at her local church when she moved to Malvern? Or that she was running a Bible study group for ‘oldies’ (her words) “ of whom I am the oldest!”, she continued, with a twinkle in her eye. She wouldn’t have been boasting. She just wanted to share her love of the Lord and Scripture with those around her and serve and encourage. Yes, every Church does need a Megan and as we now enter retirement we pray that we can follow her example.
From: Andrew Simpson

A good friend

Although I live away from Malvern I was often visiting my Mother (Lilian Simpson) who, latterly, was part of a group of 'ladies' from All Saints. Whilst looking forward to happy days with Mum it was always a pleasure to meet with Megan as well. She was such a happy person. However, I got to know her, probably over 30 years ago when Mum and Dad were very active in the church - as was Megan - but some things defeated even her. I got volunteered to put a phone extension in her house to stop her having to come downstairs at night to answer calls. She never forgot that simple job that I did for her..
The group of ladies from All Saints were very tight. Mum and Megan were always on the phone organising something or sorting some problem but they never forgot their origins.. My sister (Liz Boocock) and myself were always pleased to know that they were never going to be lonely when they had each other and a phone!
Megan was a good friend to many people. Her life was well lived - all 26 birthdays of it! - and she influenced so many people. She will be missed in person but her values will live on.
RIP Megan. You deserve it. .
From: Paul Finch

Exceptional Encourager

Megan was the female look alike of the New Testament Barnabas, who was renown for his encouragement. Over the thirteen years as vicar of All Saints I was privileged to be on the receiving end of so much encouragement from a lady who simply overflowed with this precious gift. Not a Sunday went by without an encouraging word after the service. Megan reflected Jesus in so many ways and for me her gift of encouragement stood so tall. It’s a privilege to have known such an inspirational lady.
From: Susan Mendus-Edwards

Forever Young

I was interested to hear about the Megan biscuits. I wonder what Uncle Jack would have thought of the recipe versions? I still use his method of how to cook the perfect hard boiled eggs!!

My early memories of our weekly visits to Upland Road are of the productive garden at my grandparents and the pleasure of seeing Christopher and Graham playing at the bottom of theirs.
No prizes for guessing which is Megan in the attached wartime wedding group, September 4th 1943. Standing between Uncle William and Errol. My grandparents in the front row. The wedding group subject to similar Covid restrictions.
From: Pat Antell

Grandma's/ Megan's biscuits

There has been so much talk of Mum's biscuits, I thought you might like the recipe, gleaned from her hand-written recipe book. There are actually two, and they differ considerably in proportions - perhaps that's why the biscuits never turned out the same, along with it depending on the size of the spoon she used for measuring out the syrup!
Recipe 1.
3 oz SR flour, 3oz oats, 3oz sugar, 3oz marge, 1tblsp milk, 1 level tblsp syrup.

Recipe 2
8oz SR flour, 8oz oats, 4oz sugar, 4oz marge, 3 heaped tsp syrup, spice to taste, 1tsp salt.

Method:
Mix dry ingredients. Melt marge and syrup (and milk, if used) and add to dry ingredients. Roll into balls and press flat. Cook in oven on Gas mk 2, 300deg F, 150deg C, 130deg C fan oven for 25 - 30 mins.

She liked to decorate them with a piece of glace cherry on top - not a whole one, mind - that was far too extravagant for someone who'd fed a family through the war years and onward!

Go on. Experiment. You can't get them wrong because they came out different levels of hardness every time!
From: Anthony Edwards

Vacuuming the Corgi

Something I have never forgotten is, when I was staying with you in Wallasey, watching my Auntie Megan vacuum cleaning the Corgie! He absolutely loved the sensation, and kept coming back for more, and we could not stop laughing!
From: Paul Southern

Care and encouragement

When I found myself, somewhat unexpectedly, leading Sunday School sessions at All Saints, Megan was a great source of encouragement and advice. It became tradition at the end of our Sunday services for the children to tell the congregation what they had been learning about that morning. For us 'part time' Sunday School leaders, this was a high risk strategy when it had been a particularly unruly session as you were never quite sure what the children would say! If it wasn't clear to Megan what had been taught, she would call me over for a chat over coffee but would never criticise, only encourage and offer words of wisdom.

She would always ask about my family even though she never saw them. But that was Megan. You knew she cared about you.

Megan was a truly lovely lady who I had the honour and pleasure of knowing for the past 28 years and whose smiling face I will miss. God bless you Megan.
From: Joan McNamee

Every church needs a Megan!

When Graham and I came to All Saints for Christmas 1997, we were still unpacking as Megan came across with a big smile of welcome, and invitation to her homegroup. I joined the group she had drawn together to pray for the church every Monday morning! We were mature in years, but she kept our noses into our bibles, reading prayers she carefully hand wrote and whisking us through the pages of our lessons of the day. She was an excellent teacher, smiling encouragement and keeping us busy. Graham was always so grateful for her support in the ministry here and would have echoed thanks for a wonderful witness. Every church needs a Megan!
From: Ros Ottignon

Cotti Clyd

Happy days with Nanny making those biscuits on the Aga! The rest of us in the sitting room. Uncle Jack and Aunty Megan reading the newspapers and “the cousins” up to their ears in the pages of Agony Aunts in a million different women’s magazines. We had come up from the beach and Christopher and Graham were warming up after capsizing in Cwm.We all played that wonderful game on that board where you had to shoot a miniature ball into those pockets surrounded by nails!Just can’t remember what it was called. It got pretty competitive sometimes being steadied by Aunty Megan when we got over excited.
From: Alan & Rosemary Tostevin

100th birthday celebration at All Saints

One of our lasting memories of Megan is seeing her at her 100th birthday celebrations wearing a purple outfit that, as she said, ‘matched the colour of her face from the fall she just had’.
Another is when we asked her to give her testimony, Megan didn’t think she could do it and asked one of us to read it. When the time actually came there was no way she wasn’t going to do it herself. She wanted to talk about the faithfulness of God who she loved and worshipped.
From: Elizabeth Brockbank

Memories of Megan

Megan was such a wonderful, supportive, faithful person. I remember especially her helping me lead the Junior Church and telling me off for not having a proper register of the children attending! She will leave a hole in our hearts, but we rejoice that she is now with her Father God, and that we will all meet her again one day.
From: Freda

An African Daughter

In 1967, my father wanted me to finish my education in England, but he wanted me to live with a God fearing family. Megan and Jack Oliver welcomed me into their home and I became part of the family in every way. Even after finishing school to pursue my career, it was still very much home for weekend getaways and whatever else. A few years later after I had gone back home, my sister was also welcomed here for a few years. My brother who was also living near by also would pay a weekend visit from time to time. Megan fondly referred to me as "My African daughter."

I have many, many lovely memories of my time with Megan and family.
Read more
From: Ben Oliver

How come we never knew that connection?!!

Not really a memory, but a recent discovery worth sharing...

Reading Grandma's wonderful History on this very website, I noticed that in the WWII, Jack's school (St. Paul's) was evacuated from London to Crowthorne. Jack and Megan duly moved with it.
"That's interesting!" I thought, "Crowthorne is the next town from where we live. I wonder where the school was based."

[SHORT BIT OF GOOGLING...FINDS THIS on WIKIPEDIA]:
"In September 1939 the school was evacuated to Easthampstead Park, near Crowthorne in Berkshire"

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_School,_London

[THEN FINDS THIS]:
After the war, Easthampstead Park (EP) became an education centre, including a new Comprehensive School for the town of Bracknell in 1972. In 1995 EP School moved into its own facilities within the grounds of the original House, a stone's throw from the wartime classrooms.

Source: https://www.epschool.org/school-history/

[THE POINT BEING]
Guess which secondary school our girls attend?
Yep. Easthampstead Park Community School. They are being educated literally next door to the old house where their Great Granddad once taught and we never knew until a week or so ago!

What a cool connection! I feel like I've been on an episode of "Who do you think you are?"
From: Tony, Sheila and Jeania

Warm welcome

What an amazing lady!!! It has been a great privilege to have known Megan from All Saint's in Malvern. I'll always remember her lovely smile and always asking 'how are you?' She had lovely soft hands.
One Sunday morning we got chatting about holidays and we were going to Pembrokeshire. It happened to be at the time when she would go to her home in Fishguard. She invited us to visit. We did visit, she made us tea and Welsh cakes. We had a lovely time chatting. She told us about the area and where to go for a walk.
She is an inspiration to us. A faithful servant of God. We will miss her but we know she is having a party in Heaven.
From: Helen

The best listener ever

I was another grandchild lucky to have Grandma living so close in Woodbridge in my early years. I loved getting to spend such a lot of time with her - the haircuts, playing I-Spy in her bed, Grandma biscuits (of course!), every type of cereal possible mixed together for breakfast, the BEST skin on the custard ever and lots of roast dinners. I'm sure Grandma gave me my love of dogs when she got Jasper and I can remember going on many walks with her. As I grew older I think my lasting impressions were of how much she just loved people, of any ages. She could chat for hours and was an expert listener. She was always so interested in everything about you and you just felt completely loved when with her. And she gave the best cuddles. Love you Grandma. You couldn't be in a better place xx
From: Jackie

Tea and Grandma biscuits

What I will remember most about Grandma is her beautiful beaming smile, her warm welcome, big bear hugs, continuous cups of tea and her Grandma biscuits, which I have never successfully replicated! We would talk for hours about every subject imaginable. She loved her garden and we spent many happy hours over the years walking around her gardens talking about her plants. I always drove home with a car full of plant cuttings which she wanted me to have. She was always happy, always smiling and always full of love for her family and friends.
From: Rachel Spence nee Buchanan

We need a youth leader! But I'm in my 70's....

My family lived on the estate in Malvern that Megan moved into in 1987. It was God's timing that she came because the local church needed someone to host the young people's discipleship group of which I was one. A few of us who lived locally asked Megan if she would be our youth leader and we were so pleased she said 'yes alright then' and laughed. Each week we met at her house, ate lots of Megan Biscuits, drank coke with orange juice in it, learnt about the Bible and why it was relevant to us and made up dances to songs like 'Shine Jesus Shine' and walked her beautiful dog Jasper. Over the years since, I know she has prayed faithfully for me and my family and watched me grow up, go off to work in churches, train to be a pastor and now work as a pioneer minister. Megan you were a pioneer in your time - always praying people into the kingdom and your smile and care remains in my heart. I'm thankful for you and I think you'll be laughing and smiling in heaven for eternity.
From: Nigel Antell

The loft ladder

One of my favourite memories of my Grandma (of which there are countless over many years!), was on a trip to Caer Gwylan in 2010. We'd gone on a family holiday, and Jackie's crowd had moved in with Mum & Dad in Dinas, so I stayed with Kim and the kids with Grandma in Fishguard. This was the first trip my own children had made to the bungalow, so I was eager for them to see the loft area, where Jackie and I had spent so many holidays sleeping in the bedrooms up there. We got the ladder down, and I turned around to speak to Kim who was going to the car for something. Only a few seconds later I turned back to the ladder to see my Grandma, a mere youngster at 94, already over half way up the ladder. It was at this point where my Mum's warnings of "don't let your Grandma up into the loft" came back to haunt me. Thankfully everything was fine, and we spent a good amount of time up there cleaning the place up. I think she really enjoyed seeing the rooms again. Seeing a similar story from Gill, it looks like she took other opportunities to do just the same!

One evening on the same holiday, Kim and the kids had gone to bed, and we stayed up well past midnight talking. I learned more from her about my parents that evening than I've ever learned before or since! It was these kinds of talks that I used to treasure, and I was always torn to leave whenever we visited. I think I will miss these most of all.
From: Rosemary and Harold Waite

Always a welcome

We have so many positive memories of Megan over 50 years. I remember her first when I was in my twenties, being able to talk freely in the kitchen at School House in Northampton. Then when our children were growing up we visited her in Woodbridge, Fishguard and Malvern, often for several days or a week. She was always practical and supportive, suggesting activities and organising a happy day that suited everyone. Then more recently on different occasions we came to see her at home in Malvern Wells, even a year ago she was continuing to give friendship, understanding and warmth, all so much appreciated.
From: Jean Williams

Sitting in All Saints

Memories become distant with time but the memories of Megan, sitting in her usual place in All Saints Church will remain forever.

The Peace with a Blessing and a hug , or a strong handshake from Megan, reminds me and I'm sure others, to love our God, but then to love our neighbours as ourselves.

For me personally a great privilege to have known Megan.

With love and Blessings
From: Margaret & Peter Buchanan

A dear neighbour

Megan was a neighbour, friend and mentor for over 30 years. (Do read our son's comments. She was a significant part of his journey to being the pastor of his own church).

Some would have thought she came here in here early 70s to retire. At 104 she still hadn't retired. During lockdown I, Margaret, spent a couple of hours with her on many days and we read Isaiah together.

It was a privilege and a blessing to know such an amazing lady. We will miss Megan, but look forward to being reunited in heaven.
From: James Buchanan

More than biscuits!

Where to start? Growing up on the same road as Megan, and being part of the same church, she would often babysit me. I particularly remember making our own board game, and eating plenty of "Megan biscuits". Later as a teenager, and Megan already in her 80s, she hosted a youth group at her house - patiently and clearly opening the Bible with us.

In more recent years, it's been a joy to see her from time to time when visiting my parents. Her smile, genuine interest in me and my family, and frequent supply of Megan biscuits were all greatly appreciated. It was a privilege to have known her, and she will be missed by many, but we grieve with hope.

(Thanks to Ben Oliver (comment below) for reminding me of the number pauses she would put in readings - just brilliant).
From: janet simmonds

A wonderful lady

It has been a great joy to have known Megan for the 14 years I have been in Malvern. Her great faith and love of the Lord was the very centre of her life which she shared with all whom she met. She was always a very positive person, active and was always concerned for others right to the end.
From: Heather Williamson

A godly matriarch with a lovely smile

I was thrilled when I first met Megan at All Saints because I had met her husband when I was a child! I believe she and Jack were friends of my uncle and aunt, Eric and Kitty Golden, in Maidenhead, and Jack and Eric were Crusader leaders together. Jack came to speak at one of the Open Meetings my parents, Leonard and Nancy Bayes, used to hold in our home at Maidstone. So Megan and I had an immediate bond, and I loved talking to her whenever I preached at All Saints.

Another bond was through her great granddaughter Abi, who came to St Andrew’s for a while and was once on my team at Holiday Club. I had the pleasure of teaching her O Level Latin in the VI form at The Chase, and after she went away I was glad to hear news of her from Megan.

She loved the Lord, his Word and his people with all her heart and it was a blessing to share fellowship with her.
From: Revd Dave Bruce

Megan on twitter!

Just to let you know we tweeted out about Megan from our St Andrew’s & All Saints twitter feed (@StAandASmalvern) and had a fantastic response – over 20 retweets (including Kate Bottley off Gogglebox!) and over 300 likes (including Nicky Gumbel!) and lots of comments… my favourite is ‘the holiness radiates from her face’.
view the tweet here
From: Grace Oliver

American "great" grand kids - Summer 2017

We are fortunate to have see Great Grandma a few times on our recent summer trips in Malvern, Cradley and Wales. One of my kids favorite memories is of eating ALL the cookies she had made for dad ( Chris O. ).
From: Gill Oliver

'Mum' in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire

'Mum' had to face being a widow for a very long time. I admired her fortitude in every area of her change of circumstance, and her grace. Whenever we wanted to visit as a family she WELCOMED us with open arms, meeting our needs and speculating about what we might like to do. She was alert to 'coming alongside' people even at 6am and having a personal chat - such energy! Later in the day the patio at 'Caer Gwylan' was a favourite place with a cuppa, even as the area became more full of plant pots as the years went by. Another popular place was the novelty of a roof space for a greater number of visitors reachable by a retractable ladder. Determination and strength had 'Mum' still ascending around a century!
It always seemed to be sunny at 'Caer Gwylan' (Castle of the Gulls)
From: Pat Antell

Jack's comment regarding Megan

When living in Northampton, I, Pat, used to go out with Dad to walk round the school fields with Robby, their border collie. On one occasion Dad remarked to me,
"When I first knew her (Mum), she was a very timid little thing, but just look at what she's doing now!"
What she was doing was entertaining the school governors on special occasions, (drinks and refreshments, not singing, dancing,....!), helping at the church Pathfinder class on Sunday mornings, running a girls Crusader class on Sunday afternoons and absorbing into the family both their mother's, as well as me, Freda, from Ghana for her 6th form course, and Graham some of the time. What Dad, of course, didn't realise, was how she would change from being a dutiful headmaster's wife and blossom as a person in her own right, after he died. Wow!
From: Kate Franklin

Grandma in Woodbridge

I was lucky enough to have Grandma living in Woodbridge between the ages of 6 and 16. She lived near our school and we would go over for tea before piano lessons. She called me her precious treasure and listened to my problems. From a young age she taught me about Jesus. I loved the song Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
From: Ben Oliver

Megan helps Megan open her present

This is Megan's 96th birthday party in 2012. Great Granddaughter Megan, named after her, decides that she needs help opening her presents, and is only too happy to get involved!
Grandma Megan always made time for children of every generation. We all knew we were included and invited to join in.
From: Ben Oliver

Comment from my Facebook post

My Facebook tribute to Megan is probably the most "Liked" thing I've ever posted!! Lots of love for Megan - even if only from what I'd written - from all around the world and across every stage of my (relatively short) life!

Three of my favourites were from my best friends and Sunday School partners in crime. We all (including me) were told off from time to time!

One wrote:
"She was a great Sunday school teacher for us as well, especially when it came to helping us with reading out loud in church 3. Sorry she's gone both for you and your dad but eternity has begun".

The "3" in there is a reference to Megan's teaching methods! She would write out our public readings with numbered pauses where commas or full-stops or new paragraphs came. You had to count to the number she'd written before carrying on!!

Another said: "What a woman! Definitely a little formidable if I remember Sunday School, but clearly that was for annoying chatty girls in class!!! You are blessed to have had her for so long. What an example to have in your life to follow!"

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