Gordon Tunnicliffe obituary

We are sorry to report that long standing former Lib Dem councillor Gordon Tunnicliffe passed away earlier this week.

Gordon was first elected as a councillor for Gedling Ward in 1995 and remained on the Council till 2014 when ill health forced him to retire. During his time on the Council he was elected Mayor of the Borough in 2003-2004 (the first Lib Dem councillor in Gedling to have that honour.)

Prior to getting elected to the council Gordon was a well respected teacher at local secondary schools including Redhill School. For most of his life Gordon lived in the Gedling Village area and he was involved in one form or another in most community organisations in the Gedling area: All Hallows Church, Gedling Gala, Gedling Youth Centre, Gedling Village Preservation Society. Gordon's commitment to young people outside of his time as a teacher was further shown by his work as a Scout Leader with the 1st Gedling Scout Group. Gordon's longstanding commitment to the Scouting Movement meant that many former scouts found that their own off-spring would also be taught by Gordon when they joined the scouts.

When Gordon was approached by Gedling Liberal Democrats to stand for the Party at the Borough Council elections he was surprised to be asked but his commitment to his local area meant that he was the obvious candidate for the job. Once elected he served his constituents assiduously and no problem was too small or too big for him to get involved with. Although elected as Mayor in 2003 Gordon remained down to earth and approachable to all his constituents. He always did his best (as befits a member of the Scouting Movement) and served everyone in the ward whatever their political views.

Within the council and within Gedling Lib Dems he always had an encouraging word to say especially to those who were new to the council or politics. His catch phrase was: "Keep up the good work." As is often the case with people in public life their strength is partly drawn by the behind the scenes support of their partner or spouse and in Gordon's case this came from his wife Pam who backed and supported him all the way during his time on the council. Our hearts go out to Pam at this time.

When ill health first came to Gordon in 2014 he made the difficult decision to stand down from the council. At the time he could have continued as a councillor attending the very minimum of meetings and continuing to receive his councillor allowance. However, Gordon being who he was, chose to do the honourable thing and resign rather than be paid for a position he felt he could no longer do to the best of his abilities. Even in retirement however Gordon kept active in Gedling Village doing what he could to improve the local area. Gordon's commitment to the local area was recognised by the Borough Council when he was made an Honorary Alderman of the Borough. After retiring from the council he remained committed to the Liberal Democrat cause and was a great encouragement to members of the Local Party. His Liberalism was shown in the things he did for the local area and for local people. Thank you Gordon for all you did for your fellow men and women.