I READ with great interest the recent letter from Mrs Gertrude Beasley outlining the history of the care of the Guildhall clock, in which she states that her husband, Leslie Beasley, looked after the clock until his death in 1981.
To the best of my knowledge, the clock was wound, serviced and maintained from, and possibly prior to, the 1950s by the Gale family, namely my late father Mr Reg Gale. I took over the winding and routine maintenance in the late 1950s until I retired' from the post in 1988, a post which also included the setting forth and back of the hands for summer and winter times.At that time I received thanks from the Town Council and also a letter from Paddy Ashdown MP, thanking me for 28 years of winding service. Both the aforementioned were totally unsolicited.In closing, I would like to say that I have every confidence that the old (1837) family friend' is now quite safe in the competent hands of Peter Watkinson.
CECIL GALE,
Forton Road, Chard.
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