Bill was born on 7th January 1935 to Blodwyn and Leonard Wycherley in Northwich, Cheshire. Blodwyn was from a small village in North Wales and Leonard from just over the border in Cheshire. Soon after Bill was born, they moved to live in Liverpool when Leonard went to work for Owen Owen, the department store group.
Soon after the war broke out, Blodwyn and Bill moved to live with Blodwyn’s family in the relative safety of North Wales. Bill always had a great affinity for Wales and the Welsh and this was especially evident when Wales were playing in the Six Nations Rugby. He spent very happy times here with his cousin Viv, getting up to all sorts of pranks.
Towards the end of the war his brother Richard was born and the family were back settled in Liverpool. By that time he had attended six different schools and in 1944 he went to his final school, which was Liverpool College. Here he received an excellent education, made many long term friends and developed a passion for walking and climbing.
The progress he made at the College led to him being awarded a Meyrick Exhibition to Jesus College Oxford (Welsh College) to read English and a place at Balliol. His Welsh roots won out and he chose Jesus College.
He then decided that he would do his 2-year national service before continuing his education and he joined the army in the East Lancashire Regiment. Choosing the army was natural, as his grandfather had been a regular with the Cheshire Regiment for more than 20 years and had died at Ypres in WWI in 1915. He relished his time in the army and became a second Lieutenant. He spent time in Dusseldorf in Germany and then moved to Luneberg Heath to become front line defence against possible Russian invasion. His fellow officers were convinced that he would make the army his career but the call of Jesus College was stronger.
His time at Oxford cemented his love of the English language, of the use of words and of the gift of being able to be a writer – this stayed with him to the end. But it wasn’t all study by any means. He joined the Mountaineering Club and spent most weekends rock climbing in the Welsh Hills.
During these years his mother and father were living in Canada where Leonard was working in the Canadian branch of Owen Owen. After graduating, Bill decided to join them and have a go at working down a gold mine. He did this for three months before deciding that perhaps he would return to England and follow his father and other family members into retailing. And this is what he did for the next 40 years and never regretted a moment of it. He loved the variety of work, the challenges that arose and the people worked with.
At the age of 67 he decided to retire and immediately launched himself into volunteering. Gardening at the National Trust, helping out at the Hampshire Wildlife Trust and the biggest task of all – working at St John’s Cathedral in Portsmouth in various roles, including being part of the Churches Together Group.
The countryside, wildlife and conservation had been a great interest and he loved walking. This led on to him being employed by the then Hampshire County Magazine to write articles on ‘Strolls in Hampshire’. He stopped when he had done 100 walks, there is very little of the Hampshire byways that he hasn’t trodden. After retiring from this, he continued to write for his own interest on subjects varying from conservation and ecology, religions of the world and the American federal system to name but a few.
He had a great love for all his family and was always there to offer help and advice when needed.
Guiding him throughout his life was his Christian Faith, which never faltered, even at the end.
The Service remembering the life of Bill took place at The Oak Crematorium on Friday 25th April, 2025.
