Ken's wife Jean sent us the following obituary, detailing Ken's life long love of Petersfield and dedication to the Town.

Kenneth Allen Hick (known as Ken) was born on 15 May 1935 in Silverdale at the very north of Lancashire his family moved to Hayling Island in 1938, where he had memories of the second world war. The most telling of these was the evening before the invasion of Normandy when, standing on the shore, he felt sure that he could have walked across to the Isle of Wight on the decks of the ships of the fleet.

Success in the 'Scholarship' brought his first experience of Petersfield when he joined the 1946 intake to Churcher's College and gave him a lifelong love of the town and the countryside around. His first memory of Petersfield was the fire at Norman Burton's in the Square on 6 January 1947 followed in April by his first appearance on the Festival Hall stage during that year's Musical Festival.

He spent two years in the Royal Air Force attached to Bletchley Park operating and maintaining radio transmitters at Weyhill near Andover, and coveted his cap badge with the King’s crown on it.

During the early and mid-1950s he was a member of the Portsmouth Grand opera Company and after its demise kept up his association with the music of the City by being a founder member of the Opera Comique, with whom he sang in Germany, Finland, USA, Malta and Venice, where he performed in the City’s first performance of The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan. The National Operatic and Dramatic Association awarded him its fifty-year medal in 2004.

He was particularly proud of his association with the Operatic Society, which he joined in 1951, and of being made a life member and its last president. He was also proud of his record of singing every principal tenor role in the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, the love of which started whilst at Churcher’s.

His love of the Town and appearances at the Festival Hall with the Operatic Society brought him to live in Petersfield during March 1961 and in March 1963 he became responsible for the maintenance of the telephone service in Petersfield.

His career as a manager with BT brought him into close contact with education through Employment/Education liaison groups in south east Hampshire and established his name in technician employment and training. He retired in 1992 as a senior managed in the company’s vice-chairman’s public relations department.

He became a founder member of the Petersfield Hi-Lights Society, performing musical shows and will be remembered by many for his outstanding portrayal of Emile de Becque in South Pacific. He sang throughout the life of the Hi-Light Singers who will be remembered for their highly acclaimed ‘Hi-Lights at Christmas’ concerts at the Festival Hall.

In 1964 Ken was prominent in the formation, and subsequently became a member, of the committee of the Petersfield Community Association and after a wait of five years the committee took possession of the Centre as it now stands in Love Lane. He served the Association in many ways, first as Treasurer, then as Chairman, and finally as its President.  He was responsible for the extension building works in 1982.

May 1965 was the date that his long association with local government in Petersfield began when he became a member of the Petersfield Urban District Council. That was a time when the Urban District Council provided housing, repaired roads, and supervised the slaughterhouse. It was also the local planning and public health authority with responsibility for the town’s sewers and for its water supply, together with all the functions of the present Town Council. He was the last chairman of its Highways committee.

In 1974 he was elected Town Mayor of the newly formed Town Council, a position he retained until 1976. He was to fill this role on two further occasions, in 1987 and, more recently in in 2002, and represented the Town at regional and county level. His great love was as ever the Festival Hall, driving forward the 1979 improvements, but more particularly, he masterminded the 1987 improvements which provided the Rose Room, the new ground level entrance, the apron stage/orchestra pit, green room and lighting control, giving the Town a fist class public venue, still unrivalled for miles around.

When asked as to the nature of his politics his unwavering answer always was ‘vigorously Independent’.

His experience as an engineer give him additional insight when serving as chairman of both public halls and the grounds committees.

He also served as chairman of the Petersfield Arts Council and the Petersfield Diabetic Group. Another love of his was the Petersfield Museum and he always hoped that the museum would encourage the next generation of Petersfield historians.

Known to many as Mr Petersfield, his great knowledge of the Town attracted the attention of the publishers, Francis Frith. They commissioned him to write three books on the Town’s history and development, which have been in demand from the day that they were published. This led to him being asked to write the last four editions of the Town Guide, a voluntary task which he readily undertook.

In retirement he devoted himself to travel and endorsed twinning links with the Town’s twin towns of Warendorf in Germany and Barentin in Normandy.

In 2002 the Mayor of Barentin awarded him the town’s Medal of Honour for his services to greater understanding between the two countries.

Ken was inordinately proud when two of his grandchildren joined Churcher’s and he continued his long association with the College attending many events over the years.