Hello everyone, i would like to thank you all for being here today to celebrate John's life and say our fond farewells. He wouldn't approve of us being here of course, but he could never quite understand how we needed to be. I have known him since I was quite young, but there was a whole other side to him that I never saw. John was born as Jan Peters on 31st March 1923 in Utrecht. King George V was on the throne, though for him it was Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. He was the son of Gerrit Willem Peters and Cornelia Van Cranenbroek. He had, by all accounts, a fairly normal childhood. He developed an interest in football whilst young and did well at school. His brother Gerrit was born in 1926 and together they enjoyed a traditional dutch upbringing. In 1940, Holland was invaded by the Germans and the Dutch army crumbled. John was still just 17 years old but went on the run to evade capture. He went into hiding on a farm. At some point he joined the dutch underground. The stories about his life at this time are vague as he never openly talked about it and his lost childhood. After the war he joined the dutch army as an officer. He trained in the UK as the Dutch administration was still in disarray. During a period of leave in Edinburgh, he met his future wife Norma Purves Maclean. They were married in Edinburgh in 1947. They moved to Holland, but as soon as he could, he left the army and they returned to live in Edinburgh. He was restricted to certain occupations and trained as a nurse in mental health. They later moved to Ashford with their young family. He slowly became John Peters, although he nver gave up his Dutch nationality. Norma's main passion in life was dancing. John joined in as best anyone with two left feet could. He tried Scottish Country dancing Ballroom and events in the Caledonian society. So who was John Peters. He was the father of his three sons, Ian, Michael and Norman, a father in law, a Grandfather to Sarah, Emma, Natalie and David, and adopted dad, a godfather, an Uncle and Great Uncle and a friend, neighbour, colleague and that strange man who whilstled and clucked at young children, called everyone dear, tuaght us how to speak English and was generous and frustrating in equal measures. He was extremely proud of the achievements of his family and especially proud when his grandaughter Sarah, qualified as a doctor. Since mum passed away in 2006, he found it increasingly difficult to cope and the family are grateful to all that supported and cared for him in the years since. He is the longest living male in the family and we recently celebrated his 90th birthday with a small celebration. He of course wanted no fuss. We had a takeaway from Waga Mama's, proving that even at 90 he was trying new things. He was fiercely proud of his independence and his failing health finally robbed him of that. To him it was just to many hands in the fridge. In his own words he had become increasingly tired of living. But dad, you were never a burden, may you rest in peace and as one of your grand-daughters said, now be prepared for a telling off from Gran ! You are all welcome to join the family at Honeyfield for drinks, snacks, a chat and hugs in equal measure. (poem by Emma concluded the service)