Mr Geoffrey Frank Bedford Watts.
AN ISLAND man well known as a poet, musician and writer, Geoffrey Frank Bedford Watts, died at Fairhaven Care Home, Ryde, on May 20, aged 90.
Born in Newmarket, Suffolk, on May 27, 1918, Mr Watts was educated at King’s School, Ely, Cambridgeshire. He was confirmed into the Church of England at Ely Cathedral.
He trained as a teacher and, during his long career, had tutored the children of a number of distinguished families in England and overseas, including those of the late Lord Rothermere, a press baron who owned the Daily Mail and the London Evening Standard.
A violinist of standing, he played with the IW Symphony Orchestra and was a licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music and the Trinity College of Music, London.
In a role as educational consultant, Mr Watts held a Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society. Under the pseudonym Frank Bedford, he was a published poet and short story writer, belonging to the IW Writers’ Circle.
Mr Watts moved to Lower West Street, Ryde, from Hampstead, London, about 20 years ago.
He was a member of the Ryde Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and a supporter of Ryde branch of the Royal British Legion.
At his recent funeral, conducted by Canon Albert Waterman at the IW Crematorium, Whippingham, his poem, Ghosts, and extracts of his short story The Eternal Model were recited in tribute.
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