Calls for a permanent tribute to former Ripon hornblower Alan Oliver

Support is growing for a campaign to install a memorial bench on Ripon Market Square to remember the city's former hornblowr Alan Oliver.
Alan OliverAlan Oliver
Alan Oliver

Readers have been calling for a permanent tribute to Alan ever since the news of his death at the end of July. Described as one of Ripon’s greatest and most admired ambassadors, he served as a hornblower for more than 20 years.

City resident Kenneth Ferguson, who is calling for a memorial bench, said: “It would be fitting to have a visual memorial to remember Alan such as a bench and plaque on the market square, where Alan did his civic duty every night.

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"I’m looking into this as we speak and hope to have more information in due course - including how the Ripon public and all who knew him can help.

“Alan was much loved and respected by many for what he did for the city of Ripon, and for attracting visitors from all over the world to our fine city to witness the hornblowing ceremony and the setting of the watch.

“He was a genuine person who always had time for young and old, with or with out the hornblower uniform on.”

Kenneth worked alongside Alan during the days when he worked for the Royal Mail.

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He said: “I had the pleasure of working with Alan for the Royal Mail for a short time, before he decided to swap Ripon for France.

“And he was the hornblower I grew up with in the 80s and 90s, till he retired in the 2000s. Looking back, Alan’s dedication in the role was immense. And to do it for 20 years is something that should be remembered, just like all before Alan and of course those after.”

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