Councillor PETER OLBRICH
Councillor Peter OLBRICH died on January 19th. Peter was a key and well-respected member of our Chailey community and, for more than thirty years, served on the Parish Council. As well as a Parish Councillor, he had also served as a District Councillor. ‘Served’ is the correct word to encompass Peter’s manifold responsibilities: at the time of his death Peter was completing a (first) survey of the Council’s land holdings; developing the recreational area at Rowheath; and working with the Sports Association and the Bonfire Society. Peter worked hard for our community but his own life reflected his idiosyncratic and unassuming character; it was one of the joys to receive him in the range of vehicles he curated from a German Messerschmitt through to Vespas and the ‘nomad’ he constructed – and not forgetting his Fordson tractor, a significant vehicle in the Sussex Tractor Club. It was in these vehicles that Peter rode triumphantly across Europe, recalling his European heritage, though it was by train that he recently travelled to the furthest North of Scotland.
Peter combined a rare intelligence with good common sense and an attractive personality which made him attentive to others and other opinions. He was Chair of Chailey Parish Council and thereafter Deputy Chair, knowledgeable and helpful to newcomers, and invariably gracious – speaking on behalf of Councillors to thank them for their considerations. Peter was a very kind and fine man whose advice and help will be sorely missed by our community.
