Man who campaigned for new Bexhill school dies

Tom Tyler was one of two stalwarts who campaigned to get the school built in Pebsham. 

The other was former ward councillor Megan Traice, who died last year.

At the time of their campaign, Tom was priest in charge of St Michael’s Church.

The eastern part of Bexhill was being developed at a rapid rate in the early 1970s and the only primary provision was at St Mary Magdalene’s Roman Catholic School. 

Concern was growing in the community that there would be insufficient places for the increasing number of young children.

Tom and Megan prepared a questionnaire and canvassed the entire area, producing statistics which proved a new school was urgently needed.The result was the construction of Pebsham Primary School, now Pebsham Primary Academy.

At St Michael’s Tom was assisted by his wife, Tricia. His ‘can do’ approach was in part shaped by his previous work as a missionary.

He brought the large hall to St Michael’s and helped initiate the mother and toddler group, playgroup, hobbies club, luncheon club and day centre.

An ardent collector of Dinky Toys, Tom organised fundraising collectors’ fairs which attracted buyers from a wide area.

Later in his life he lived near Ipswich, Suffolk, and turned his hand successfully to the design and construction of children’s playgrounds and the production of jigsaws.

He became a successful author while fighting a long-term battle with cancer.

While undergoing his final round of chemotherapy last year Tom set himself the task of writing a final work.

The book, Slavery and Freedom, was published under his own Jack of All Trades Publishing imprint as the Black Lives Matter movement gathered strength.It was aimed at giving young people an insight into 6,000 years of racial abuse. 

Tom, who died on December 31, wrote it as a textbook for children with its availability as an e-book for school students.

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