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Peter Raymond Godwin CBE In business, Peter was a leading City Merchant Banker most notably with Lazard Brothers, Standard & Chartered, West Bank and Commerzebank and he was honoured with a CBE in 1992 for his services to exports. Sadly, he died aged 58 in April 2001 after a short battle with cancer. Peter served on a number of committees and boards including the British Overseas Trade Board from 1995 to 1999. He lived in South Harrow where he was Organist and Choirmaster at St Andrews Church in Malvern Avenue for 41 years. Born in Stratton St Margaret near Swindon, Peters parents moved the family to Harrow after the war, Peter subsequently attending Harrow County School in Gayton Road. at the age of 16 his schooling was cut short by tuberculosis but he later went to work with his father at Lazard Brothers. He became an Executive Director of the company in 1976 and later, in 1982 he became Deputy Managing Director of the International Division. His work led him to travel extensively overseas on numerous Trade Missions, to Asia, Africa, the Far east and the former Yugoslavia and he was soon appointed to a number of positions within the Department of Trade and Industry as an adviser. He was also heavily involved in the formation of the Korean Merchant Banking Corporation, and Peter, Wendy and his children Helen and Philip moved to Seoul, Korea for six months during the early eighties during the initiation of this project. His work in international banking and in the development of overseas trade earned Peter the honour of a CBE in 1992, an award of which he and his family were rightly very proud. Peter was always a keen sports fan, and aside from his beloved Somerset County Cricket team, Swindon Town became an increasing part of his life until he became a Director of the Club in 1995. Travelling home and away as his business commitments would allow he supported the Club through thick and thin, and always, as in most things that he did, with a smile on his face. A lone sadness being that he did not live to see Swindon repeat their success of the late 1960's when they won the League Cup Final, beating Arsenal at Wembley, although Peter did share the pleasure of their success in reaching the top flight of English football in the nineties. As a member of St Andrews Church, Peter, a gifted organist, served the Church and the community for over 40 years, playing his bride, Wendy, down the aisle at their wedding ! For 33 years he also organised a choir made up from his banking colleagues who sang every year at Christmas Concerts in City of London Churches. Having visited The Plough in the sixties to fist see the Compton Organ, he returned a number of times to play it before finding the pub available for sale in the mid nineties. The purchase made, Peter and Wendy set about their new hobby with tremendous vigor, making the organ and the concerts a centrepiece of entertainment for a great number of people, Peter among an array of well known organists invited to play and give concerts. Peter could often be found either side of the bar, chatting and sharing a drink with 'the regulars' and visitors alike and was always willing to talk about the Organ or Swindon Town to whoever showed interest and he will be sadly missed in all the varied areas of his life. Paying tribute, Rev Douglas Cockhill said "Peter was an extremely talented musician and a devoted servant of St Andrews. He was such an easy going man and very easy to work with. Playing by ear, he was always bashing out tunes from TV programmes etc without any music" Peter died on April 26th at St Thomas's Hospital, Westminster, following surgery. His funeral was held at St Andrews Church South Harrow and he is buried at Pinner New Cemetery.
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