Page 8 - Thrapston Life May 2024

AN APPRECIATION
of the life of Keith Cameron Rennie
Many folk in Thrapston will remember Keith Rennie. He was the man with the yellow jacket pushing a trolley with his dog attached on a piece of string, keeping the park areas well cared for and, when needed, manually digging a grave for a Thrapston resident.
Keith was born in London on the 2nd of February 1928 and died on January 17th 2024.
Back in 1941, London and particularly East London was being very heavily bombed by the German Air Force. Whole streets disappeared overnight. As a boy, Keith remembered watching the planes and the bombs detaching themselves from the planes to rain down on the houses. As a result Keith, his sister and parents were moved to Northamptonshire, settling
in Thrapston. Keith retained a fondness for London and for the accent.
Keith became a highly disciplined and skilful trumpeter and after the War, he did his National Service in the Army Music Service. Like many people of his generation, though bright Keith’s family lacked the financial resources
Drive Thrapston. He became a kind of focus figure for a motley crew of swimmers of all abilities, ages and backgrounds. At the Market Road pool he suggested that jazz should be
to send him to Grammar School.
He auditioned for the BBC Concert
Orchestra and was offered a seat in the Orchestra, but his family circumstances
meant that he was unable to take that opportunity. He played with one of
the country’s top Brass Bands as well
as with local groups like the Kettering Symphony Orchestra and would always practice for three hours a day at exactly
the same time. He was also an expert
on modern jazz. He had mountains of jazz CDs and could explain with great technical expertise what each player was trying to achieve and the finer points of composition.
He worked for Kettering Parks Department, often in Wicksteed Park before taking up a job as a gardener for Thrapston Parish Council. He swam regularly for many years at Thrapston pool, which was originally at the Market Road school and latterly at the Nene Centre in Cedar
“He became a kind of focus figure for a motley crew of swimmers of all abilities, ages and backgrounds.”
played while people swam which was agreed.
Keith finally moved to Clanfield residential care home where he was cared for, for almost four years. Many of the staff are locals who either knew Keith directly or through their parents and this gave him contact with both the past but also the town as it is now.
Keith was a devout Christian and worshipped at Burton Latimer Baptist Church where was much loved.
Keith Cameron Rennie lived his life well within the limitations of the time. He was a man of particular skills and abilities. Keith sure had his idiosyncrasies. But he was a deeper person than that. A person who was respected on account of his determined attitude to life, his intellectual ability as a musician and love of music and, actually, his friendliness.
Tony Knivett 11th February 2024
(With thanks to the Reverend Mark Welsh)
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