When Cyril died recently he was in his Eighty Seventh year.

His wife for nearly sixty years was Maisie who died a few years ago. Cyril leaves his son Richard as the last Armstrong in Wing.

Cyril was born in 1929, the youngest of three children.  His family lived at Pickwell. Later Cyril went to school in Somerby and later still to Melton school. He left school at the age of 14, in 1943, – too young to be called up, but as he worked on a farm he was in a reserved occupation in any case.  Such work was vital to sustaining the country in time of war.

He and Maisie were married on 6th September 1952 in Ashfordby. They moved to “The Cottage” at Wing in 1953, when Cyril worked for Frank Ayers in Manton.

He had various jobs. He worked at Manton Station, he drove a lorry for Garrett’s Transport, he was a civilian driver at Ashwell Prison, and latterly a night patrol officer.

A regular at the Thursday Coffee morning for some years, his opinion on matters and tales from yesteryear are missed.

But Cyril was a farmer at heart, – a man of the land.  At one time he owned four tractors, and he had a big garden  of 3/4 acre  “The Ponderosa”, at Preston where he spend many afternoons pottering around with his agriculture and machinery.

Lately Cyril was cared for by the staff of Oakham Medical centre and of Manton Hall.