Who is Teddy?
Edward (Teddy) Chambre Dickson
29.7.1918 – 9.11.2015
Teddy Dickson was born in Lytham, the second son of Kathleen (Yates) and Alfred Eric Dickson, a chartered surveyor. The family of four boys moved with their parents to Broughton Park in 1928, and in 1932 were joined by a sister. This home remained in the family until 1977. It is now the Preston Marriott Hotel, having been extensively enlarged.
Teddy’s father, Eric Dickson, was a church warden of St. John the Baptist Church, Broughton and was a Patron of the Living. He was also instrumental in helping to raise money for Broughton Church of England School, as it is now called, in 1949, so that the School might remain a Church School.
Teddy was educated at home with the help of a governess until he was sent to join his elder brother at Bigshotte Preparatory school, before following him to Marlborough College, Wiltshire. In 1938 he joined Buck and Dicksons, the family firm of solicitors, as an articled clerk. In the same year he was commissioned into the 88th Field Regiment of the Territorial Army, as WWII approached. The outbreak of war in 1939 interrupted his articles, and after service in France, and in England after the withdrawal from Dunkirk, his regiment was posted to Malaya, where his elder brother, serving as Adjutant in the same Regiment was killed in action against the Japanese. Teddy was taken prisoner with the remainder of the Regiment at the fall of Singapore, and as a prisoner of war worked in the notorious labour camps on the Burma – Thailand railway, a terrible experience which he was fortunate to survive. He qualified as a solicitor in 1948 and became a partner in Buck and Dicksons.
In 1951 Teddy married Joyce Mary Houghton (Pip), the younger daughter of A.T.R. Houghton (a former church warden of St. John the Baptist Church, Broughton and a Patron of the Living) and sister of Denis and Roger. They began married life at Fairholme, now the site of the Ibis Hotel in Broughton. Their two children, Daphne and Peter, attended Broughton Church of England School. The family moved from Broughton to Goosnargh in 1960. Following Pip’s sudden death in 1964, Teddy married Isabelle (Bella) Healey in 1965, a partnership that lasted until her death in 2006.
Teddy was a governor of Broughton Church of England Primary School for 50 years and was involved in the launching of the Church Cottage Museum. He joined Pip in the Broughton St. John the Baptist Church choir around the time of their marriage and continued as a member for over 30 years. The services at Broughton were an important part of his life. He served on both the Parish Council, the PCC and was also a Patron of the Living.
In 1975 Teddy was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire and served as High Sheriff of Lancashire from 1986-7. He was also a member of The Select Vestry of Preston.
During his lifetime Teddy set up a Charitable Trust in which he stipulated that when the time came to wind up the Trust after his death, the fund should be used to support local charities. The trustees awarded a grant to Broughton Church of England School in recognition of his long connection with the school. He would have been delighted with Teddy’s Nursery and honoured that it should bear his name.