Marcus Alwyn Pattern (1933-2023)

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Mr. Marcus Alwyne Pattern, second son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Pattern, of “Earith Villa,” Station Road, Long Sutton, was married at Holbeach Wesley Church on Saturday, to Miss Olive Margaret Petch, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. P Petch, of 35 Park Lane, Holbeach.

Mr. Pattern, who was for several years a reporter on the Free Press and Spalding Guardian, is a theological student at Handsworth College, Birmingham, where he is completing three years training for the Methodist ministry.

Given away by her father, the bride wore a full-length white figured taffeta dress, with three quarter length sleeves and a waist length veil held in place by a coronet of pearls and diamante. She wore a marcasite necklace and carried a white bible, with a spray of salmon pink rosebuds.

The bridesmaids were Miss Christine Green (bride’s niece) and Miss Wendy Field. They wore dresses of peach-rose figured taffeta, with white cummerbunds and elbow length white gloves. Their headdresses were of a circle of peach and white flowers, and they wore diamante necklaces. The bouquets were of white freeias and fern.

The best man was Mr. Alan Bell (Leeds), a college friend of the bridegroom.

Following a reception in the Barrington Gate schoolroom, the bride, bridegroom and bridesmaids, visited patients at the Holbeach hospital, where the bride is a nursing auxiliary.

Mr. and Mrs. Pattern are spending their honeymoon on a motor cruiser on the Norfolk Broads. For travelling the bride wore an oatmeal coat, with coral pink hat and dress, and stone accessories.

The officiating ministers were the Rev. Irving Scott. of Bourne, and the Rev. J. Bailey-Chapman (Holbeach). The organist was Mrs S. Boddington, of Birmingham.

The bride and bridegroom’s future home is at Acock’s Green, Birmingham.

Spalding Guardian (11 April 1958)

TO BE ORDAINED AS METHODIST MINISTER

Former “Free Press” and “Spalding Guardian” reporter, the Rev. Marcus Alwyne Pattern, whose home is at Long Sutton, and who has been a probationer minister in the Methodist church at Brigg since August, 1958, is to be ordained at the Methodist Conference at Bradford in July.

Mr. Pattern was accepted as a candidate for the Methodist Ministry in September, 1955, when he was 22.

He is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Pattern, of Long Sutton and was educated at the Spalding Gleed Boys’ school.

As a local preacher, Mг. Pattern was well known in the Spalding, Lincoln and Bourne Methodist circuits.

Lincolnshire Free Press (23 May 1961)

A former reporter at Spalding, Mr. Marcus A. Pattern, second son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Pattern, of Earith Villa, Long Sutton, has been ordained as a minister of the Methodist Church.

Lincolnshire Standard & Boston Guardian (28 July 1961)

LONG SUTTON MAN IS ORDAINED

Former reporter for the Lincolnshire Free Press and Spalding Guardian, Marcus A. Pattern, second son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Pattern, Earith Villa, Long Sutton, was ordained as a minister of the Methodist church last week.

With nearly 100 ordinands, Mr. Pattern was received by the President of the Methodist church, the Rev. Dr. Maldyn Edwards, at the Methodist Conference in the Eastbrook Hall, Bradford.

Mr. Pattern’s ordination took place at the King’s Cross Methodist church Halifax. Amongst those sharing the laying on of hands were the Rev. Dr. Colin Roberts and the Rev. Dr. Donald Soper (ex-presidents of the Methodist Church) and the Rev. F. O. Le Sueur. chairman of the Lincoln District.

Mr. Pattern was trained at the Handsworth theological college, Birmingham, and was then appointed to the Kirton Lindsey Methodist church. In September, he will become the minister of the Glebe Methodist church, South Shields.

Mr. Pattern’s four years as journalist were certainly not wasted. With three other ministers, Mr. Pattern was responsible for reporting for the “Methodist Recorder.”

Spalding Guardian (21 July 1961)

Another slant on freeze-up photo

Another contribution to the mystery of the Big Freeze photograph has come from Mr Tom Pattern, of Sutton Crosses, Long Sutton.

His mother, Mrs Gladys Pattern, late of Station Road, Long Sutton, who now lives at Great Yarmouth, remembers one big Freeze.

“She thinks it was about 1956 and she remembers it because my brother Marcus, who was then a reporter on the Free Press, went out on a pilot boat from Wisbech to Sutton Bridge and the boat actually froze solid in the river”, said Mr Pattern.

He said his mother remembered the incident particularly because of the amusing sequel. “The phone rang about 2 am and it was the editor. He said he was very sorry but Marcus would be spending a terrible night in the middle of the river on this boat.”

His father, the late Mr Albert Leonard Pattern, was very surprised and informed the equally surprised editor that in fact his reporter was safely tucked up and asleep in his own bed.

“Apparently Marcus managed to get off on the ice, and walked across the planks to the Bridge,” recalled Tom, who is a produce merchant.

Marcus, who was a Free Press and Guardian reporter for five years, left us in September 1955 to enter the Methodist ministry and is now living in Halifax.

The freeze in the story seems therefore likely to be in March 1955, when 26 degrees of frost were registered in Bourne.
A report in the Free Press March 1, 1955, began “After the worst week of drifts, ice-bound roads and blockages since the great freeze-up of 1947, most main roads had been cleared by yesterday but bulldozers were at work throughout the week-end clearing by-roads, especially in the marshes. For a fortnight temperatures in this district have not been above freezing.”

Spalding Guardian (17 November 1978)

Obituary

Prior to his death, Marcus wrote his own obituary:

Marcus was born in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire in May 1933. He served as a Methodist Minister in the following circuits: Brigg 1958-61; South Shields 1961-65; High Wycombe 1965-70; St. Albans 1970-75; Halifax 1975-81; Bradford (Great Horton) 1981-86; Brighouse 1986-91 and Keighley and Worth Valley 1991-98.

Educated at the John Gleed School in Spalding, he trained as a journalist working at the “Lincolnshire Free Press” and the “Spalding Guardian” He fulfilled his national service with the Royal Air Force as a control tower operational clerk being based at Lindholme and Cranwell.

He responded to the call to offer as a local preacher with this leading to his candidature for the ministry in 1955. Training followed at Handsworth College, Birmingham. Stationed as a probationer at Kirton Lindsey in the Brigg circuit, he cared for five churches and served as a chaplain at the local Royal Air Force station, Ordination followed at the King Cross Methodist Church in Halifax; the church to which he was to return as it’s minister fourteen years later.

He was then appointed as minister of the Glebe Church in South Shields before moving to High Wycombe. His ministry continued with a move to the new town of Hatfield where he became a member of the ecumenical team of Roman and Anglican priests and a United Reformed Church minister and served as the Free Church chaplain at the former Hatfield Polytechnic College.

His appointment to the King Cross Church in Halifax followed and he rejoiced to live in the same manse as his illustrious predecessor, the Rev. G. Bramwell Evens, better known as “Romany” of BBC Children’s Hour. As a child, he had listened to Romany’s nature walks described on radio.

His first appointment as a superintendent minister was at Great Horton, Bradford, and his second at Brighouse. At Haworth, his last appointment, in partnership with the Bradford Social Services for the Elderly, he was to supervise the adaptation of three of the churches in his care to serve as Day Care centres in these village communities.

He welcomed the freedom retirement afforded to share life more fully with his wife, Olive, whether walking in the Yorkshire dales, attending the lunch time concerts in Leeds Town Hall, or as members of the National Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society visiting historic buildings and beautiful gardens.