A family has paid tribute to their father and grandfather, a kind and thoughtful man who loved football, the world of newspapers – and brought ‘smelly-vision’ to Suffolk.
Charles Richardson was born and bred in south-west London on August 25, 1942, but everyone knew him as ‘Chas.’ An only child, Chas left school aged 15 and started his working life at the General Post office as a telegram boy.
It took Chas a few years to truly find his niche, and his daughter Hayley McDougal said he spent his early adulthood moving from place to place, trying his hand at a few different jobs.
Chas moved first to Surrey, then to Middlesex, before coming back to London to work for the Bank of Scotland in the West End.
He then made his home in Maidstone, Kent, where welcomed his first daughter, Wendy. After a short time of commuting from London to Kent, Chas decided that he needed to find a job nearer his family, and was offered a position working in sales at the Kent Messenger.
The world of newspapers, Chas realised, was where he wanted to stay.
“Dad always loved his time, throughout his life, working for the newspapers,” said Hayley. “He had a really successful career doing something he really, really enjoyed.”
Chas rose quickly through the ranks, and his career led him to Oxford where he became a sales and promotions manager for several newspaper titles.
This was also a busy time family-wise for Chas, for he had welcomed two more children. Hayley arrived in 1980 in Kent, and then Gary followed in 1983 in Oxford.
The following year, Hayley said Chas could no longer resist the lure of the East Anglian Daily Times, and he decided to relocate his family to Martlesham in 1984. He became a Senior Manager at both the EADT and the then Evening Star.
“We’ve got such happy memories from living in Martlesham, and Dad working in Ipswich,” said Hayley.
“My brother was always featured in the newspaper, anytime they needed children to do something.
“One particular memory we have is when Dad and his team thought up a promotion for something called ‘Smelly-vision,’ which was basically giving away scratch cards in the newspaper.
“You had to tune into the TV to watch an advert at a particular time, and the advert was connected to the scratch card smell.
“My brother was on the front page promoting it, when he was about three years old.”
Chas was also hugely proud of a promotion he created, which gave away a car in 1986 as a competition prize, after much negotiation and free advertising space for an Ipswich dealership.
The whole family threw themselves into life at the newspaper.
“There were so many happy times, coming into Dad’s work, sitting at his desk,” Hayley remembered. “Spending loads of time at the East Anglian was ingrained in us.”
She remembers being part of the newspaper’s Press Gang Majorettes troupe, and the family attended the Suffolk Show through the newspaper’s connections.
They also enjoyed attending the newspaper’s sports and social club at its then-site in Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, where Gary and Hayley felt very grown-up socialising with their father’s colleagues, some of whom were like “extra grandparents".
“It was such a brilliant time,” remembered Hayley. “We’d have Christmas parties there, and they would do cabaret night. Saturday night was disco night.
“We’d be there all the time; it was a really happy place for us. That’s where we learned our love of music.”
Chas was also an avid speedway and football fan.
“We got the opportunity to go to loads of football matches, and Dad started taking me to see Ipswich Town on his promotional path when I was eight, so the two of us did that together,” said Hayley.
“In later years, he and my brother went, and were still going together until right up until the pandemic.”
Although Chas was a lifelong Arsenal boy, Ipswich Town became his second favourite team.
“Dad prided himself on the fact that he could say he had stood or sat in every part of the old Highbury Stadium
“He also had promotional passes to go to speedway. That was a huge part of our lives as well.
“Between the East Anglian and all the people that were there, his friends and colleagues, it was a huge, huge part of his life and our childhood.
“Some of our happiest memories were during the 80s.”
After finally retiring from life at the newspapers, Chas spent some time doing voluntary work until he was diagnosed with dementia nine years ago.
A year ago, Chas moved into Fornham House residential home, where Hayley said he was well cared for by the “incredible” staff. She is thankful that the family were able to celebrate Chas’s 80th birthday with him in August this year.
Chas passed away on September 20.
“He was surrounded by love, and it was very peaceful,” said Hayley.
Instead of floral tributes, the family is asking for charitable donations to the Time Out Club, a respite facility which was a great source of support to Chas and his family.
Chas is survived by his wife, Gill, his three children, Wendy, Hayley and Gary, his seven grandchildren, Zoe, Christopher, Alex, Paige, Caitlin, Alfie and Cameron, and one great-grandson, Jaxon.
He will be missed by his family, and the many, many friends he made during his years at the East Anglian Daily Times.
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