Alan Womack 1934-2026
On 24th August, Forncett lost one of its most ardent supporters. Alan Womack was born in Forncett in 1934 and, although he left the village in 1952, he always held Forncett very close to his heart.
Alan was one of ten children born to Horace (Horrie) and Florence Womack, although sadly only five lived into adulthood. The family lived for many years in the Forncett St. Peter townhouses which stood on Aslacton Road next to the school.
Life was undoubtedly tough for Alan but he always spoke of his childhood in Forncett with enormous affection. When not in school, he spent much of his time in the water meadows of the Tas behind the church (known then as "The Park"). Consequently, he had a huge knowledge of the local environment and often spoke with sadness about the degradation of the Tas Valley that he has witnessed over the last seventy years.
In 2023 Alan was interviewed about his early life in Forncett by Tracy Satchwill. The recording is invaluable and allows us to listen back to Alan talking enthusiastically about Forncett in the 1930s and 40s. To listen - click here.
St. Peter's church played a very important part in Alan's life. As a young boy he pumped the bellows on the church organ and in later life he spent many volunteer hours cutting the churchyard grass. Alan's parents, and seven of his siblings, are buried in the family grave at St. Peter's which Alan tended right up to this year.
Alan was a very outgoing character, and he had a remarkable memory, so he was a huge source of knowledge regarding Forncett history during most of the twentieth century. This made him an invaluable member of Forncett History Group when it was founded in 2009. In 2012 he worked with John Webster to publish a booklet entitled "My Young Days at Forncett St. Peter" which gives a fascinating insight into Alan's youth here in the village.
From 1952 to 1956 Alan served in the RAF and much of that time was spent at Abu Sueir in Egypt where he worked in the Military Transport section. Having returned to Norfolk, in 1958 Alan married Irene Kedge from Fundenhall and they had three children, Tina, Mark and David. By 1963 the family had settled in Sprowston and it was around this time that Alan joined Norwich City Fire Brigade with whom he served for the next 26 years, retiring in 1989.
In 1983 Alan became a magistrate on the Norwich bench, a position that he held for fifteen years. His background and his life experience undoubtedly made him an excellent candidate for this position. Alan had a very clear concept of right and wrong and of justice, much of which he probably learned as a young boy in Forncett!
In 1988 the Womack family moved to Wreningham, and in 1991 they built their own house there on Hethel Road. It was while living in Wreningham that Irene introduced Alan to the hobby of metal detecting which was to become a huge part of his life, and he made some remarkable finds. In 1996 Alan and Irene found a unique bronze seal that was used to ratify the treaty which heralded the departure of the Vikings from Scotland in 1266. How the seal came to be buried near Wreningham is still unknown. Three years later Alan, together with two fellow detectorists, unearthed The Forncett Hoard, a pot containing 369 Iceni and Roman coins which was found on the land of David Barnes in Forncett St. Mary. Less than six months ago Alan gave a fascinating talk about his detecting career to Wreningham Heritage Group and, at the age of 92, he kept the audience completely enthralled for well over an hour!
Very sadly, Irene Womack died in 2001, aged just 63. Alan subsequently moved back to Wymondham but he was a constant visitor to Forncett and a regular attendee at coffee mornings and village fetes. Despite suffering a heart attack in 2023 which needed heart surgery in Cambridge, he made a full recovery and was soon back in his car! On the day before he died Alan attended the morning service at Fundenhall church where his wife Irene is buried and where his own funeral will be held on Wednesday 30th September at 11.30 am.