Eileen was a Bale institution. She moved here as a young bride, brought up three children, and had been living in the same house for 67 years until going into the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital at the end of 2025. She died peacefully in Kelling hospital in February, her family with her.

During those many years in Bale, Eileen had been, and still was, a member of both the Parochial Church Council and the Village Hall Committee. She was also ‘The Paper Lady’, going out daily, on her bike, in all weathers, to deliver the newspapers that NewsKlip had brought to her at a very early hour. She was well into her 70s when she retired.

Eileen had a deep affection for Bale Church. Not only was she a regular worshipper, she also took pride in taking care of the altar cloths and silverware, ensuring that the church was properly and precisely set up for communion services. She provided Easter eggs for the children of villagers, and their visiting families and friends. She was, too, a stalwart of the church fete. She and her girls spent the morning making and labelling sandwiches and cakes, and the afternoon presiding over the teapots and watching their morning’s work rapidly disappear.

Eileen was a deeply caring person. For many years she supported elderly residents in the village, she and her children taking them Christmas lunches before they had their own. There is so much more that one could say; it will take a long time to get used to Bale without Eileen. An institution indeed.

Credit: Local Lynx Magazine – Edition 167 – April to May 2026