RonSTEELEAccrington’s Ron Steele was one of the last surviving World War Two veterans when he passed away quietly just after midnight on October 6. Wikipedia, which keeps a record of the diminishing numbers of surviving old soldiers, implied that he was one of the last surviving serving sailors in the Royal Navy. Ronald Charles Steele, aged 95, died in his home in Wensley Drive, where he lived with his only daughter, Susan. Ron joined up at 17 in 1944, eventually qualifying as a 1st Class Stoker serving in the 8th Minesweeping Flotilla on board HMS Trouncer and HMS Sea Bear. His service took him to Malta, Port Said, Cape Town and Durban in South Africa plus Gibraltar and Morocco, all the time delighting in “a good night’s rest” sleeping in a hammock. Ron’s fighting days included his own “unbeaten career” as a champion boxer, representing his various ships and the Flotilla in the lightweight division. He was so successful that he “honestly couldn’t remember losing a fight”, he assured daughter Sue. He came from a family dedicated to wartime service and the defence of the realm. Among them was Ron’s dad who was gassed on The Somme though he survived. Sister Marjorie served in the WAAF, brother William flew in the RAF defending India and Burma and brother Ernest was at Dunkirk before being drafted into the Desert Rats in North Africa. As a youngster, Ron excelled at swimming and singing in the church choir, where he was paid extra for writing out the hymns in days before duplicators. He was first class at maths and writing at school and could have gone into further education but Dad told him “to get a job”. As a keen sea cadet, he naturally leaned towards the Navy and found himself battling to win the war by keeping the old boiler going on a converted banana boat, H.M.S. Trouncer. After victory in Europe and Japan, Ron continued to serve until 1949. His first job out of uniform brought him a long way from his childhood home in Worthing on the south coast. He arrived in the wilds of Huncoat to work on the boilers of the brand new power station. Within a short time he had met, danced with and fallen in love with his future wife, Ann, on the ballroom of Accrington Con Club. They went on to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary. It was to begin a fascinating new life for them both. They soon became leaders and teachers in East Lancashire’s ballroom and sequence dancing scene. Ron was well known and highly regarded in the North’s ballrooms as he ensured his fellow dancers kept up with changing times. He would travel far and wide to learn new sequences and steps. In a full and busy sporting and social life, Ron was a keen cyclist and gardener and loved wild life. He was an all-rounder much in demand for his skill on both football pitch and cricket grounds. He and Ann also loved their holidays in Rumania and Italy. Ron especially appreciated his wartime in Malta when it was quite normal to see the future Queen of England strolling around, simply just another wife of a serving officer. In recent years Ron was a keen and regular member of the Men’s Monday Social Club at New Era, Accrington, where he was known as The Champion Domino player. Ron’s funeral will take place on Wednesday, October 26 at Accrington Crematorium at 9.40am. Flowers welcome. Funeral director: Wolstenholme Funeral Service - Accrington.
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