Littlehampton will be paying tribute to the recently deceased violinist Graham Morris who passed away at the age of 80. Morris is crediting with making various contributions to the culture of the town and preserving the history of the town for future generations. Morris was an amazing violinist who kept playing until very recently. He was also an actor, appearing prominently on the small stage for many years. Morris passed away after a battle with cancer that lasted for several months. Before his death, he was a member of the town’s local history society and even served on the committee and he was very interested in the heritage of the town where he’d lived for most of his life.
Anita Bateup, the society’s treasurer paid tribute to Graham, calling him a well-educated and cultured man who loved both history and music. She also described him as a lovely person and a gentleman who, before his passing, made a major contribution to the society and to preserving the history of the town he loved so much.
The Millennium Map of Littlehampton was published in the year 2000 and Graham played an important part in the research and drawing of the map. He was also the group’s correspondent for the Gazette and made a lot of notes on the lectures that were given at the monthly meetings. He even wrote the reports for the Grassroots page of the paper. Anita had organised his 80th birthday party and in attendance were members of the society, friends and the Arun Light Orchestra.
Anita described it as a happy occasion and he’d been quite happy that his friends had attended the occasion. She continues to say that Graham was like by everyone around him and that he was going to be missed by a lot of people and the society. In addition to being a volunteer at the old Museum, located in High Street, Graham was also a life member of the Arundel Museum Society and greatly advocated for the new museum that is to be built in Mill Road.
The leader of the Arun Light Orchestra, Wilf Daggett, described the deceased as a player who was quite enthusiastic and reliable. He had been a part of the group for 15 years and was always ready to try whatever the group wanted to play.