We have just heard that very sadly Wyn James has passed away.

Wyn was a loyal, reliable, and hard-working supporter of Ashtead Common and Rye Meadows. Although it looked as though a puff of wind would blow him over, Wyn was never one to shy away from the hard tasks. He was one of the volunteers who came to help lay the new hard surfaces on Footpaths 24 and 596 when we originally repaired them. He took wheelbarrows of hardcore and raked the surface as much as anyone else.

When we had a curry evening for the volunteers in 2016 Wyn stood up too quickly and his blood pressure plummeted causing him to fall face forward into his empty plate. He was out like a light so we called an ambulance. When it arrived, Wyn had regained consciousness but the crew insisted on taking him to A&E where they kept him overnight. Once discharged, Wyn being Wyn, walked home!

For a man so slim and underweight, Wyn had a huge appetite and he knew where all the "eat as much as you like" restaurants were. He regularly walked into Epsom to enjoy a meal at one of these establishments, until he was banned for eating too much!

Wyn was very Welsh and could talk for Britain. If conversation was an Olympic event, Wyn would have been a gold medallist! He was a quite a "character" and was well liked by all at Ashtead Common and Rye Meadows. He will be missed. Rest in peace Wyn.

Ashtead Common Tribute

The team at Ashtead Common were very sad to learn about the passing of one of our long-term volunteers who committed over 20 years of his life to supporting Ashtead Common. Wyn James was a well known, respected and valued member of the Ashtead community. Over the years he fulfilled a role as an ACV representative for a number of Consultative Committees, helped with numerous Ashtead Village Days and was a dear friend to many of the volunteers. The team will miss his humour and knowledge, chats about wildlife, hiking and conversations about rugby.