Tribute to Bury St Edmunds man Stanley Hills, known as Stan, former head of department at West Suffolk College, who has died aged 93

A former head of department at West Suffolk College who came from ‘humble beginnings’ believed in striving to be the best you could be, his daughter has said in a tribute.

Stanley Hills, known as Stan, who had lived in the same house in Starre Road, Bury St Edmunds, for 54 years, passed away peacefully on February 21 at the age of 93.

A ‘staunch’ Mancunian, Mr Hills and his family moved to Suffolk in 1970 when he took up a position as lecturer in mechanical engineering at West Suffolk College. He stayed there until he retired in 1992, as head of the mechanical engineering department.

His daughter Susan Stephenson-Howlett, of Honington, described him as ‘a very happy and sociable man’, always very friendly, ‘well-liked and well-respected’ by his students – and he held on to his accent.

Talking of her dad’s interesting life, she said at the age of 14 he had a trial for Manchester United Football Club – his dream – which he passed and was offered a contract.

However, it was 1946 at the time and footballers were not paid a living wage and went to games on public transport. His father said ‘no’ and told him to get a proper job, so he started an engineering apprenticeship.

Aged 21, having completed his apprenticeship, he was called up for National Service. However, Mr Hills was a conscientious objector and did not want to serve in the armed forces.

He went before a panel in Manchester to state his case and it was agreed he could go into one of the following areas: nursing, food distribution, the building trade or land work.

Mr Hills started his state registered nurses training, which is where he met his wife Jo. She had come over from Ireland to Manchester to do her nursing training and they married in 1957. She died in 1998.

Mrs Stephenson-Howlett said: “My dad was someone who always thought education was such an important thing so he decided to stop the nursing and went off to be a milkman [for the remainder of his National Service], but purely because he would have the afternoons off and could carry on with his engineering qualifications.

“He was a man who believed in doing the best you can, always push yourself, education is key and knowledge is power.”

In the 1960s, Mr Hills was a design engineer working for the Nuclear Power Group on the new Dungeness Power Station, in Kent. His wife, daughter and son David were still living in Manchester and Mrs Stephenson-Howlett recalled how they would rent a little house at the beach with a train that ran past the bottom of the garden.

With all the protests against nuclear power, Mr Hills recognised there was no future in more stations being built so he decided he would like to pursue teaching, doing his teacher training at night school.

Mrs Stephenson-Howlett said her dad ‘absolutely loved’ teaching and added: “Again, because he was helping people, I think. And education was something that was really, really important to dad.”

Mr Hills, who was born in Manchester, was a staunch Manchester United FC fan and played football on a semi-professional basis for Crewe while doing his apprenticeship, but then had a knee injury and was forced to stop playing.

As well as football, his passion for sport included rugby, cricket, golf and cycling.

When he moved to Suffolk in 1970 he took up golf after one of his colleagues at the college introduced him to Bury Golf Club.

Mrs Stephenson-Howlett said her dad took to golf ‘like a duck to water’ and played until his 80s. She said he had introduced her son Tom to golf – which he had a talent for – and was always ‘really proud’ of his success with it.

Cycling was another sport Mr Hills enjoyed – he would ferry his son David to events and thought he might as well take part too.

He got his daughter involved in the sport and the two of them rode for the West Suffolk Wheelers club. They took part in events called ‘two ups’ where Mrs Stephenson-Howlett would ride behind her father, tucked in within an inch of his wheel, being dragged along in his slipstream.

Mrs Stephenson-Howlett said: “I had to trust him completely and I always did.”

She described her dad as ‘an amazing man’. “Coming from humble beginnings, he strived to be the best he could be, in everything he did, and this he instilled in me,” she said.

Mr Hills, who was also a great-grandfather, passed away at Ford Place nursing home, in Thetford, where he had been for a couple of weeks.

♦His funeral is taking place tomorrow, March 25, at West Suffolk Crematorium at 4.30pm.