Funeral of Geoffrey Hubber

Trelawney Chapel at Penmount was full for the funeral of Flushing-born Geoffrey Wilson Hubber, who died aged 90.

He was the only child of George and Ethel Hubber and the family had lived in the village since the early 1800s.

Both his grandfather and great grandfather were Master Mariners who operated sailing ships out of Falmouth Harbour.

Geoff's early years were spent growing up in Flushing. His interests included fishing, swimming, shooting, sailing, playing sports and anything connected with the water.

He was a pupil at the local school until in 1942 when at the age of 14 he left to start work as an electrician at Falmouth Docks.

For the next three years he worked on helping to repair all types of vessels sent to Falmouth to be repaired for use in the war.

He was also a member of the local fire brigade, helping to put out fires following the bombings that occurred during the Second World War.

At the end of the war Geoff started at the local technical college to gain more qualifications in electrical engineering, he subsequently left the docks and joined SWEB, the local electricity distribution company, as an electrical engineer.

He then met his future wife Mary at a social gathering in Penryn.

In 1948 Mary went to teacher training college in Bath for two years. Geoff knew she had a favourite type of sweet so he used to package some up and send them to her on a regular basis.

They married on in 1951 at St Gluvias Church in Penryn, after which he took up a position with SWEB in Taunton and they resettled there.

In December 1953 Ian was born, later after being promoted the family moved to Bodmin and both his daughters Sandra and Gill were born there. They subsequently moved to Redruth when Geoff was once again promoted.

This was when Geoff embarked on the first of his many interests that he had throughout his life, amateur radio. As with everything else he did, he threw himself in totally learning all about the subject that allowed him to build his own equipment and also repair televisions and radios.

In the early 1960s, Geoff took an interest in scuba diving and learned to dive in the muddy waters of the Truro River.

Geoff used to go diving on the wrecks off the Lizard with a colleague from Bodmin called Roy Davis. They always returned to the surface with something lobsters, crabs or crayfish but they were mostly on the lookout for copper, brass or gun metal valves and gauges from the wrecks to fund their diving.

In 1963 Mary’s father, who was building a bungalow estate in Mabe, offered them a plot and Geoff threw himself into building a new home for the family.

Once they had moved in, Geoff turned to the thing he had grown up with - boats.

He acquired an ex Naval wooden hull which he fitted out and used in Falmouth Harbour. This was the first of seven boats he had, some were built from scratch, others were fitted out and some were repaired to make them seaworthy.

They were a mixture of motor and sailing vessels which were used locally and also taken around the country competing in sailing competitions from a base at Restronguet Sailing Club where he also served as race officer and Commodore.

It was at this time he was invited to join the Free Masons and remained an active member all his life.

Geoff retired from SWEB at 55 and took an interest in guns and shooting.

He had always been an engineer at heart right from the early days in the Docks and his preferred medium was metal. So his final interest was the building of a quarter scale working steam traction engine (pictured).

This was a labour of love for more than five years and when finished gave him great pleasure taking it around county shows and rallies quite often accompanied by his grandson Matthew.

In the end it was amateur radio, his first interest, which stayed with him all his life even up until very recently. Now sadly the sound of G3NVJ calling CQ will no longer transit the airwaves.

The family would like to thank all his colleagues and friends from all the organisations that he was involved in throughout his working and retirement lives especially those who travelled from out of County along with all his friends in the village including all those at the bowls and luncheon clubs.

It also thanked Tony, Dee and the staff at Pendle Funeral Services, and all the staff at Kenwyn Nursing Home, with special thanks to Colin and Gordon, who provided unending comfort and companionship especially at the end of his life.

Family mourners were Mary his wife, Ian & Christine Hubber son & daughter-in-law, Sandra & Paul Hocking daughter & husband, Gill & David Tregay daughter & husband. Laura & David Berryman, granddaughter and husband. Katie Hubber & Jordan Adlard, granddaughter & partner. Richard, Michael & Alice Hocking representing Thomas grandchildren., Andrew & Kate Tregay grandson and wife, James & Jo Tregay grandson & wife, Matthew Tregay grandson. Alistair & Lyn Flower, nephew & wife, Tim & Becky Flower nephew & wife, Ben Flower great nephew. Thelma Slade and daughter Carol, representing Ross and June Bell.

Funeral Directors: Pendle Funeral Services