Hundreds Turn Out To Pay Their Respects

At funeral of long serving Chiswick Riverside Councillor Robert Kinghorn

Hundreds of mourners turned out to pay their respects to Councillor Robert Kinghorn at his funeral on Wednesday. The moving service at the church of St Nicholas, was conducted by Father Simon Brandes with Leader of Hounslow Council Peter Thompson giving a heartfelt and eloquent eulogy.

The death of long serving councillor, who died after collapsing in the street in Chiswick last week, prompted a significant number of tributes from colleagues and members of the community.

Robert Kinghorn was a councillor in the London Borough of Islington from 1968-71 and stood as a parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party in Blyth Valley in 1987 and Norwich North in 1997. He made his political mark in the London Borough of Hounslow where he served as a ward councillor for over 20 years and was Conservative Group Leader from 1992 to 1995. In 2006 he became Executive Member for Children and Life Long Learning.

Cllr Peter Thompson (pictured left with Felicity Barwood) said, "Robert was a good friend and a magnificent councillor. I greatly appreciated working with him over the years and know at first hand the effort he put into representing his constituents.

“His commitment to local government was total and he was making real changes in his role as Executive Member for Children and Lifelong Learning that will affect the education of children in the borough for many years to come.

“He was always exceptionally charming, informed and passionate, and his passing is a real loss to us all. He is one of those rare people who will truly be missed by everyone. Of course my immediate thoughts are with his wife Rosemary and the family."

Cllr Paul Lynch, a fellow Riverside ward councillor, said: “Robert was an outstanding councillor. He was totally committed to the helping the people of Chiswick, and his presence and capability and conscientiousness will be so missed. Nothing that has happened in Chiswick over the last 20 years escaped his involvement.

“We worked together on so many projects over the years and he was a dependable rock all the time. After years in opposition he so relished his role on the Executive with responsibility for children and education. He really engaged with staff at the Civic Centre and there was widespread sadness and tears when news of his death broke.”

Chiswick area committee chair and fellow ward councillor Felicity Barwood added, “Robert was more than my fellow ward councillor; he was my very great friend. I first met him when I moved to Chiswick 20 years ago, and he was my mentor when I was first elected to the Council. He was always dependable, and nothing was ever too much trouble for him, a fact that was borne out in his involvement in the local community. He was an extraordinary man, and he will be greatly missed.”

Cllr Kinghorn was laid to rest in a private burial at Chiswick New Cemetary. He leaves behind his wife Rosemary and two sons, James (12) and Phillip. (22 months).

November 2, 2007