It was with great sadness that we recently heard of the death of long time member and past president Bill Marks. Here are some extracts from the Eulogy written by his wife Lynne:

William David Marks was born in Birkenhead on 2-12-1946. At 8 years old he spent two years of his life in Thingwall Hospital after the removal of half a lung. Living with Bronchiectasis never stopped him living a full life – a proficient horse rider, he even ran half and full marathons later in life. Bill loved his animals – having his horse Malika from 6 months old and rescuing two little ponies Teddy and Rascal. From a young age, Bill was always interested in motor vehicles and studied mechanics at Birkenhead Tech. He completed an apprenticeship at Bowmans Garage in Bebington, eventually being the manager at their Parkgate garage. In his early 20’s Bill got interested in motor cross racing mini’s for many years as a member of the Ace of Clubs. He restored classic cars including Austin Healys, classic minis and kit cars. Bill moved to Neston and in his 30’s opened up his first garage on Hinderton Rd. In the 80’s, Bill did a three-year photography course and he subsequently joined the Chester Photography Society. Bill held a number of positions in the club, including serving on the committee and was president for a few years. It was being part of this club he made some great friends. He was extremely talented and entered many competitions of which he won lots of cups BUT he never stopped looking for the right shot and was never without his camera. Bill travelled a lot with Lynne and took some fabulous photos – everlasting memories of the Rockies, Yellowstone Park, Route 66, New York, White Stallion Ranch in Arizona – just to name a few. Bill owned 5 of his own garages and took courses to be an NVQ assessor in mechanics. Once qualified, Bill leased his garage and worked full time at North Wales Training, eventually becoming a Team Leader. He travelled all over North Wales assessing people in their work-place and was so passionate and proud about his role and the difference it made to young people’s lives. Bill helped secure funding to get a Caterham kit car which was built on site by the trainees and they eventually built three cars which were returned to the manufacturer to spray and sell on. Bill was really upset when the company took the decision to no longer support the mechanics course and he was made redundant but took a job as a porter at Clatterbridge mental health unit. Here he was nicknamed ‘Bill the Skip’ as he was always on the look out for things that ‘would come in handy one day’ – these bits always ended up at home, much to Lynne’s annoyance. Bill was loved by colleagues and patient’s alike working for the trust for 4 years. Bill settled down to enjoy his retirement and all of his hobbies when he was contacted by a colleague from North Wales training to ask if he was interested to deliver basic mechanical courses to children with special needs in Flintshire High School. Bill jumped at the chance and enjoyed doing this for about 3 years. Bill said this role really did ‘enrich’ his life and he loved every minute of it.

Sadly, in 2023 Bill suffered a stroke – the first of two that year. He spent 8 months in hospital and unfortunately, was never the same and unable to continue with all of his hobbies that he loved – this was a difficult and frustrating time for Bill. In November 2024 Bill suffered a third stroke and never came home from hospital. So, as we say our final goodbye to Bill we will never forget him – or his sense of style, his long hair, his hats and as Bill would have said: Life is Like a camera. Just focus on what’s important and capture the good times, develop from the negatives and if things don’t work out just take another shot.

Jan Wilding was asked to say a few words on behalf of CPS:

When we, in Chester Photographic Society heard of Bill’s death many members shared their memories of him, and I’d like to share some of those with you now.

Bill was on the committee for many years, serving three times as President, and was always very active in all aspects of the club, giving talks, organising trips and providing a venue for our practical workshops for a time. The trip he organised to see the Tall Ships on the Mersey is particularly remembered. In order to get some unique photographs of the Tall Ships he chartered two small motorboats to cruise among them as they sailed into Liverpool. But unfortunately, the weather was awful, blowing a gale and raining and the river was so choppy it was too rough for the ships to sail, so a few hours was spent cruising up and down the river with nothing to show for it. He is also remembered for the very lavish buffets he provided for Committee and Bring and Share meetings. Although, maybe the credit for these should go more to Lynne than Bill. But perhaps Bill will be remembered mostly for the very haunting images of the concentration camp at Auschwitz, starkly rendered in the snow. A vision of which I have every time Auschwitz is mentioned. One thing that came through time and again was his kindness and willingness to help and, for my husband Phil and myself, the support Bill gave us during the time we ran the workshops was invaluable. In the words of many members – he was a great guy and a sad loss to the Society. Our condolences go to Bill’s wife Lynne, son Danny and all his family. ……………………….