Below is a personal recollection of Don written by Jane More, a member of Capel History Group

Don Foreman: Historian and friend

Back in 2003 and knowing of our interest in local history, the ever-persuasive Mary Stinton asked my husband Bryan and I if we would like to join fellow enthusiasts to research the history of the villages of Five Oak Green, Capel and Tudeley. So it was, in the kitchen of Mike and Joy Temple, that we met the unique, memorable (and even a little eccentric) Don Foreman who was to become a firm and unforgettable friend. On seeing me wearing a jumper which made it obvious that I was an "Archers" fan, Don immediately showed interest - and we were off!

Over the last 18 years we have worked on a small committee, first under the chairmanship of Mary Stinton and then from 2013 under Don and these meetings were always fun with plenty of laughs - and of course coffee and biscuits - but a lot of work managed to get done, resulting in the publication of three "Capel Explored" books. Don's especial interests, as we all know, were fires, the Scout movement and aeroplanes, but he used his great powers of investigation and his vast knowledge to produce numerous articles on many subjects.

Never shall I forget clambering through the bramble-infested ruins of the Isolation Hospital in Half Moon Lane when I was researching the history of hospitals in the parish for "Capel Explored One" and we have some memorable photographs to prove it!

Don's collaboration with the late James Edwards and then Paul Chalklin ensured that the publications were of exceptional quality and have proved so popular that copies of No. One are now a collector's item.

There are many amusing memories of Don, including one interview when we both came away suffering from flea bites from an absent cat! One thing I managed to give Don was chicken pox - sorry Don!

Lastly, it was fitting that we should remember him on Sunday, 15th August, two days after he passed away peacefully at The Hospice in the Weald. For Don had been instrumental in requesting that the Parish Council should commemorate the opening of the two War Memorial Cottages just 100 years ago on 14th August 1921 with a small ceremony at the cottages. The sun shone on those who had come to remember those who had died in both World Wars and Andrew Stanley, Secretary of the Capel History Group, read the speech Don had prepared.

I think he would have been pleased and proud. We certainly were. As was said of the late John Buchan - Don will always remain "Unforgettable, Unforgotten".