It is with great sadness that the family have announced the passing of Alan Bolden, a long-time resident and even longer-time admirer of this town of Rye and its history.
Alan first came to Rye as a teenager in the late 1940s. He would visit again during his honeymoon with his new wife Joyce, and together they agreed while walking down Mermaid Street that "one day they would live here".
Alan and Joyce, and later on with their two boys, Peter and me, would holiday at Camber Sands for many years, and would go on to buy a holiday cottage in Broad Oak, Brede.
After many years of living, and being a primary school teacher, in Walthamstow, East London, they moved down to that same cottage, and Alan taught at St Mary Magdalene Primary School in Bexhill until his retirement from teaching in 1992, when Alan and Joyce finally moved into the centre of Rye - the dream from their honeymoon of almost 40 years earlier.
Alan and Joyce were active members of the Rye History Society, and they were also keen participants in the local U3A debating group. Joyce passed away in 2008, and Alan continued with his role on the committee of Rye United Football Club for many years until the team’s sad demise in 2014.
Recently, Alan’s mental health had deteriorated, and he had been living in a care home near to my home in Gillingham, Kent. It was there on Monday, March 3 that he passed peacefully during his sleep.
Alan will be buried alongside Joyce in Rye Cemetery at 11.30am on Wednesday April 2, looking out across the town and the surrounding countryside that they both loved so much.
