Death of orchestra veteran and lawyer

30 June 2005

A TALENTED amateur musician and former Orpington-based solicitor has died at the age of 90.

Reg Cope was president of the Bromley Law Society in the 1960s and was held in high regard by his colleagues.

Born in Cheshire on January 30, 1915, he qualified as a solicitor in 1938, putting his legal career on hold a year later following the outbreak of the Second World War.

After joining the East Lancashire Regiment, he spent most of the conflict serving in East Africa and rose to the rank of Major, before being demobbed in 1946.

On his return to civilian life, Mr Cope resumed his work as a solicitor and set up his own practice in Blackburn.

He married his wife Jean in 1948 and last November they celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary.

Mr Cope and his family moved south to Chelsfield in 1957.

Within 12 months he had purchased the practice of Leslie F Attwater in Orpington and specialised as a conveyancing and probate solicitor.

He never forgot about his military past and played an active role as chairman of the Orpington branch of the Soldiers Sailors Armed Forces Association (SSAFA) for 21 years. He also held the position of vice-chairman of the Chelsfield Conservative Association in the early 1960s.

Mr Cope moved to Knockholt in 1962 and continued to live there for the next 30 years. He became involved with the local parish council and eventually became its vice-chairman.

A keen musician, in 1964 he joined the Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra, for whom he played the cello for 34 years until his retirement from the stage in 1998.

He was chairman of the orchestra for 20 years and was made honorary vice-president when he stepped down seven years ago.

As well as the cello, Mr Cope played the piano and was a keen fan of both Chopin and Rachmaninov and also played the French horn in his youth.

Mr Cope continued to work alone in his own legal practice until it merged with Pumfrey & Lythaby in 1980. He retired five years later at the age of 70.

Sport also had a big role in his life and he played tennis for many years before discovering the joys of golf at the age of 65.

He became an enthusiastic putter and joined both the Knole Park and Limpsfield golf clubs where he played regularly well into his early 80s.

He was also a steam locomotive enthusiast and was a member of both the Spa Valley Railway and the Maunsell Locomotive Society.

Mr Cope and his wife lived in Sundridge from 1992 before moving to Sevenoaks two years ago.

He passed away on June 19 at the Gloucester House nursing home in Sevenoaks and his funeral was held at the town's St Luke's Church on Monday.

Mr Cope is survived by his widow, Jean, and only living son, Christopher, who like his father became a solicitor and amateur musician.