A FORMER firefighter and rugby player who was a popular figure in the Basingstoke community sadly died in Barbados last week.

James Goddard, 75, who served as a fireman on Basingstoke White Watch for more than 25 years died on Tuesday, December 6.

Jim, as he was known, drove fire engines and was present in attendance at some of the biggest fire incidents in Basingstoke, including the Digital Equipment Corporation building ‘The Crescent’ in 1990 and the Barclays Mercantile fire in 1991.

Jim also caused some amusement when he hit the headlines as he caught the corner of a sweet stall in the marketplace on the way to a call and destroyed the stand with the fire engine.

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An avid member of the Basingstoke Rugby Club, he also played well into his 60s as a veteran, assisted in training young players and arranged veteran rugby tours around the Caribbean islands.

Jim even joined the first team match for five minutes on the pitch for his 65 birthday. 

He also enjoyed football and refereed in his younger years. He supported Aston Villa and attended matches.

As a Venture Scouts leader in Old Basing, Jim has also changed many lives, putting the Scouts through their places, climbing Mount Snowdon, and encouraging them to complete their Duke of Edinburgh awards.

Born on August 21, 1947, to Helen and Len Goddard and raised in The Street, Old Basing, Jim lived in the village for most of his life.

He moved to Basingstoke for a few years but returned to live in Old Basing in the early 1980s.  

In recent years he retired to Barbados but travelled back to the UK a couple of times every year to visit friends and family. 

Sadly he suddenly died on the island, but his friends there reported that he was in good form, enjoying watching cricket and football and taking part in local quiz teams.

He leaves his daughter Debbie and son Andy Goddard and four grandchildren - Sam, Blake, Myles and Theia.  

Debbie paid tribute to her dad saying he was full of life and energy.

"He would definitely be described as being here for a good time not a long time and a real larger-than-life character who once met was never forgotten," she said.

"He enjoyed being social and always had a story to tell. He was happy to chat about any subject and loved a pub quiz and reading crime novels.

"He was always up for some fun. Some of the young rugby players learnt the hard way not to mess with dad. After a fun training session at the rugby club, the team turned on the coaches with water pistols. After a quick phone call, dad had a fire engine backed into the club car park. He yelled - 'that's not a water pistol, this is a water pistol'. Chaos ensured as he fired up the engine's hoses and proceeded to completely soak all the kids. That was dad, always up for fun and enjoyed a joke and a laugh."

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Debbie also remembered Jim as the "worst cook known to man".

"He was renowned for adding random ingredients such as baked beans to bolognese to stop it from resembling spaghetti soup, but somehow he managed to get by.

"He also loved animals, particularly dogs and in later years used to enjoy sitting in the garden, watching the world go by with my dogs at his feet."

His family will be holding a memorial service for Jim in Old Basing next year once he has been repatriated to the UK.

Debbie said Jim’s friends and family are welcome to get in contact with her if they would like more information regarding arrangements. 

The family has also set up a Just Giving page to raise funds in his memory for The Fire Fighters Charity.

If you would like to contribute, go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/debbie-herring.