CYRIL Trust was born on June 25, 1937 and was the only son of Roy and Agnes Trust.
During wartime children were sent to the most convenient school and Cyril entered St Polycarp’s in Bear Lane, although not a Catholic, and was brought up in two religions until the age of 11.
In 1948 he passed the eleven-plus exam and entered the Farnham Grammar School, where he spent five years. His time at the school resulted in mediocre results academically and his main claim to fame was his prowess in the swimming pool.
On leaving school, Cyril knew that National Service beckoned and he spent 18 months with Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory at Camberley and six months with Crosby Doors in Farnham. At the age of 18 he entered the Royal Air Force and spent most of his time stationed in Shropshire.
Returning to civilian life he obtained a position in the purchasing section of the Mobil Oil Co in London, but after two years grew tired of the daily train journey and looked further afield.
He became a salesman for Link 51, which was a Midland company making and selling storage equipment, and stayed with them for almost 15 years.
He was promoted to special contracts manager and then to area sales manager for the West Country. During this time he met his wife, Pauline, who was originally a London-born girl but lived in Croydon.
They married in 1970 and set up home at Normandy on the side of the Hogs Back, where they had their sons Richard and Robin.
The eldest son was a special needs child and Cyril became the first parent governor at his school, Freemantles of Windlesham, and eventually chairman of governors.
This introduction to the world of special needs was to play an important part in the life of both Cyril and Pauline.
He decided to accept a position with Ucan Products, part of a large group, and stayed with them for 14 years, moving from regional sales manager to managing director. During those years the family moved to Farnham and lived for more than 25 years at Broomleaf Road.
Moving to Farnham, Cyril joined The Hedgehogs and at one time was their chairman and over the years organised, or helped organise many fund-raising events.
The most notable were the It’s a Knockout series for local schools, Farnham Fashion Show, Farnham Castle Auction Evenings and several musical events at the Maltings or the castle. His final event was Choirs Are Us in 2013.
Cyril also became the chairman of the Farnham & District Museum Society for several years and remained a supporter of the Museum of Farnham for the remainder of his life. He also joined the general committee of the Old Farnhamians’ Association and for many years was responsible for many events for this organisation.
Over the years he organised 15 Farnham Lectures, 11 annual dinners, nine Southampton lunches, 13 college awards evenings and was chairman of the Farnhamian 400 Trust for 14 years.
In 1992 he became a governor of The Ridgeway School for special needs children and soon after the school was put into ‘Special Measures’ by Ofsted.
He was asked by Ofsted and Surrey County Council if he would take over as chair of governors for the school and with some changes in staff the school came out of ‘Special Measures’ after 18 months.
The Blair Government wanted to introduce ‘Inclusion’ with mainstream schools and special measure schools mixing more closely and The Ridgeway was chosen as a guinea pig for this scheme.
It consisted of rebuilding the school, building a combined nursery in the grounds of Pilgrim’s Way school and taking over some classrooms at Farnham College.
As well as a full time job and the work with the schools Cyril was also asked to sit on the new Schools Organisation Committee (SOC) for Surrey as the special needs representative.
It was almost a full time job, but in 2002 the new buildings were opened and Cyril decided to give up the chair and the position with SOC.
He was awarded an MBE by the Blair Government and Cyril, Pauline and their sons went to Buckingham Palace for his award presentation by the Queen. It was a proud moment in the Trust family.
Cyril still arranged events for The Hedgehogs with mainly concerts using local choirs and singers from Farnham College. In 2013 he decided to stand down from the group after some 30 years. He still remained friends with many of his former colleagues in the group.
He devoted most of his energies to the Old Farnhamians’ Association as he approached 80 years of age. This involved organising events in conjunction with the college and the Old Girls’ Association.
In 2016 he organised a special Queen’s 90th birthday Garden Party at the college and more than 120 people attended. This was to become his final major event and he stood down as chairman of the 400 Trust after 14 years.
He continued to oversee the College Awards Scheme and still edited the Farnhamian magazine.
Cyril Trust leaves his wife Pauline who was his constant companion and greatest supporter over many years together.
He was rightly proud of his sons Richard and Robin, who have both done well in life and in his later years was a devoted grandfather to James and Kai. He was a ‘Farnham man’ through and through!