Vic Holdaway Merit Award Winner 2026

Arrival in Staplehurst Vic and Margaret Holdaway moved to Staplehurst in 1980. He is now 96 years old.

Vic immediately joined Staplehurst Footpath Group and the Staplehurst Royal British Legion Branch.

Royal British Legion

After retiring, he became President of the Branch and used his time to maintain the RBL hut, next to the Village Community Centre in order to keep it running efficiently.

During those times the Branch was a hub of social and fundraising events. He became the secretary of the local Branch until fewer members forced the closure of the Branch.

The Branch kept an eye on the war graves in All Saints Church yard and maintained the Garden of Remembrance. Again, as numbers dwindled, Vic became last man standing looking after both of these until recently handing over to his daughter, Ruth.

The village Remembrance Parade became more regulated after the Police withdrew from its running, and Vic used his experience from various other RBL Parades and took on the organisation of the road closure and the coordination of participating village organisations.

Heavily involved in the Remembrance Sunday Service, Vic has supported many church incumbents with this annual Service. Silke treasures his hand typed notes.

The Village War and the ALG memorial

Long before the advent of ‘There but not there’, Vic and Ruth set about changing the list of names on the War Memorial which is read out so that first names were put to the original initials, so this brought the fallen back to being recognisable people who gave their lives for our village and whose families continue to live here.

Involved in the fundraising for the ALG memorials, Vic was Ted Sergison’s “go to” man for ceremonies / ceremonial / order of precedence., etc. Vic also helped Ted organise the ceremonies at the Grave Lane and Station memorials.

Poppy Collections

He was a very long-standing poppy collector in Staplehurst and the Honorary Poppy Appeal Organiser for years.

Footpath Group

As a walk leader and Footpath Group committee member for decades, Vic, Brian Waterman and Ivan Walton were also the ‘Wednesday walkers’, walking for pleasure whilst clearing and reporting issues as they went. Vic and Ivan went onto become KCC Countryside Access Wardens maintaining and marking Footpaths as well as investigating reports of blockages, stile damage and other issues. In addition they set themselves the challenge of finding and recording all the village boundary stones.

All Saints Church

Vic revelled in organising their annual fundraising walks for the Friends of All Saints.

Vic has been a long standing Sidesperson at All Saints Church.

Brattle Farm Museum

In addition to attending the regular help gatherings at the museum at Brattle Farm, Vic also enjoyed being a volunteer guide at events held at the museum in addition to spending an afternoon a week cleaning, organising and placing the labels he had spent hours hand crafting at home.

Village wildlife

For decades Vic has recorded bird sightings in and around the village and continues to report these to The British Trust for Ornithology. His wife Margaret was the botanist and recorded all the plant species too.

Community support

As his wife and daughter were both involved in Girl Guiding in the village, he was the quiet support behind long serving Brownie Leaders, always there to help out.

On Carnival Day he was always there helping with floats, preparing and manning stalls, giving his cheerful support to all.

We extend sincere thanks to Vic Holdaway for his exceptional and sustained contribution to Staplehurst. His commitment to remembrance, heritage, community safety, local wildlife, footpaths, and village life has been exemplary. Vic’s work has strengthened our shared identity, preserved our history, and supported generations of residents.

Staplehurst is lucky to have you.