Hello

[Mary foster]

My father was born at 1 south street, accrington in 1919.
He won a place at the royal college of art, where he met my mother. He had to leave mid studies to go to war. He served for the duration of the war as the radio operator on a mine sweeper. At the end of the war he returned to the RCA, married my mother who was also a student there and had me before she left. A news paper article revealed that not only works of art were hanging in the college but also nappies: mine!
Leslie was friends from his first day at school with another artist: Gerard De Rose and they followed similar paths...college, war, back to college. Gerry used to visit us in our flat in Knightsbridge and we once visited Gerry's mother at Christmas, when she was quite an old lady. Dad said she had been a beauty in her youth, as had my grandmother.
Grandmothers name was Lucinda Richardson nee Whitaker. She had nine siblings but the only one I know of was called, marvellously, Aquilla!
Roger Whitaker the singer was reputed to be one of her relatives.
On leaving for college Leslie never returned to live in accrington, and his family moved to Coventry. His younger brother Frank, who was too young to go into the navy like his big brother, worked in a factory doing war work and was killed during the blitz on that city. He had an older sister called Ruby who lived out her life in Coventry.
Dad died on the 22nd of November 2014, aged 95. He was cremated at Woking crematorium on the 5th December 2014 surrounded by his remaining friends, his two daughters Mary and Frances (the youngest, Lucy aka Lucy in the sky with diamonds, died in 2005 of cancer) his two grandsons (who have produced between them four great grandchildren) and his best and most famous student Ralph Steadman who still, after all those years, truly valued his opinion. Dad loved him like the son he never had.
He will be missed by many as an artist, Photographer and great teacher.