Tributes have this week been paid to well known, community-spirited Highbridge resident Terry Rickard who has sadly died.
Terry, 77, was born in Love Lane, Burnham in May 1947 and passed away on Wednesday this week, his family said.
He was well known across Burnham and Highbridge after helping many community groups over several decades.
After Terry completing his schooling he joined the Royal Marines where he served Queen and country for 10 years.  On leaving the Marines he then joined Burnham-On-Sea Fire Brigade and served for 24 years, ending up as the Station Officer.
Terry also ran several businesses in Burnham and Highbridge since the 1980’s, employing many local people.
In his spare time he was a school governor at King Alfred School and also served a while on Burnham and Highbridge Town Council.
Terry spent many years giving back to the community in a huge variety of ways. Some examples of his generosity include in 2014 giving Hillview Carnival Club the use of a sheltered site free of charge for building their carnival float so that they could continue after they lost their previous home. They are still there now.
The King Alfred Boxing Club had one of Terry’s units free of charge for over 10 years, which helped them to continue. They only moved out when they outgrew the premises.
In 2018 he did a head shave for the Princess Trust and raised over £3000 in sponsorship which he then matched, ending up with nearly £7000 going to the charity.
The following year, in 2019, he donated a mini-bus to the Burnham-On-Sea & Highbridge Sea Cadets Unit, he also donated a mini bus to the cadets in Bridgwater and also one to the cadets in Weston Super Mare.
In 2021, after an appeal by local football club Burnbridge Wanderers, Terry donated £5,000 to fund the purchase of new life-saving defibrillators to be kept next to sports pitches in the area.
When Watchfield Village Hall were fundraising for a new hall Terry kindly donated £10,000 to their appeal, and he also donated another £10,000 to the Weston Hospital Scanner appeal.
He also donated five 50-inch TV screens to the Eliot Ward at Musgrove when he was admitted there last year.
He also supported numerous other local clubs and organisations over the years, including Sedgemoor Vintage Rally, Blue Ridge Runners and local Harvest Homes over the years with free skips and bins for their events.
For his services to the local community, Burnham and Highbridge Town Council presented Terry with a well-deserved Civic Award in 2023, attended by his family. He is pictured above with the Mayor at the time, Cllr Lesley Millard, and current Mayor Sharon Perry.
