Although we cannot imagine that there is anyone who doesn't know this, the Broomhall Park Association is sad to announce the death of Barry Cummings after a long illness. Barry was born in Sheffield and lived here all his life, in fact his mother still lives in Harland Road where he lived as a child. He attended Pomona Street School (now Portercroft), which was attended by so many Broomhall children. Then he went to High Storrs Grammar school - again so many of our children have done the same thing! He worked as a copywriter in Nether Edge from 1963, and lived there too after his marriage to Monica in 1971. In 1983 Barry and his family moved to 37 Collegiate Crescent, where he soon became an active member of the Broomhall Park Association. He was active enough when he worked as the Marketing Director of Woodcock Travel, but became even more so after he retired in 1997. There are few of us who were not on his email list, and thereby learned all that there was to know about trends and worries in Broomhall.
I first met Barry when we were both becoming more than agitated about the prostitutes in Broomhall. So, we swapped names, car registration numbers and other sordid details of that activity. What a way to get to know someone! But I learned that he was tenacious, funny, and community minded. That never changed, even after the ladies found another place in which to trade. Barry became ever more involved in all aspects of Broomhall life. He was the reason why you all received a copy of this newsletter, and why our profile in the City and the Media is so high. We don't know what we will do without him, but we must carry on his commitment to the area, it would be his legacy. Our best wishes go to Monica, and his sons Adam and Thomas and all his family.