IT is with great sadness that we have to report the death of Charles Henry Heale of East Street, Crediton.

At almost 94, “Chainsaw Charlie” was a much-loved local resident for all but three years of his life.

Born on July 18, 1926 at Long Barn on the outskirts of Crediton, “Char”, as he was affectionately known, grew up in West Sandford and after leaving school went to work at the Yeoford Saw Mills.

He joined the Royal Artillery in 1943 and served in Poona in India and Rangoon in Burma, part of the 14th “Forgotten Army”. He was demobbed in Rangoon in 1946.

He returned to the Saw Mills where he met the then Enid Shelston, and they married in April 1949. Charlie and Enid had three sons, Martyn, Mervyn (sadly deceased in 2018) and Stephen.

The family variously lived at Penstone, East Village and Lower Creedy before moving into East Street in 1965. Charlie had a small holding at Pakeham before he became a market gardener, dairyman and finally a timber-feller. The majority of his life was spent as a timber feller and log merchant.

There is one well-known anecdote of "Chainsaw Charlie" chugging through Crediton on his old tractor pulling a trailer of logs slowly through the town with a two-mile tailback of holidaymakers beeping furiously behind him, his response was to give them a Winston Churchill victory salute, and carry on with his delivery at his pace.

He used his skill to provide seats around the town made out of wood he had hewn.

He was totally supportive of his family, and nothing was ever too much trouble for him.

He loved his allotment, so much so he ended up with several. For many years the family never bought vegetables or fruit. What he couldn’t grow he bartered. That was Charlie Heale, there was always a solution to every problem.

When his wife died in 2015 he taught himself to cook, make jam and chutney, and generally continue with his full life.

He loved to eat out at the restaurants in town, and was a regular at Buccaneers, where he loved his 5-7pm cut-price beer. In later years, as his health declined, that became two pints of shandy or lemon and lime.

He loved his grandchildren, and doted on them over the years, always giving them fiscal boosts to help them along.

His health deteriorated in 2019 and the steady decline in his lifestyle, and mobility really irritated him, but he would not give up.

Until the Coronavirus caused lockdown of everything, he would still dine out every day, and sit overlooking the bowls green getting some sun. When he had to curtail all these activities his health went into further decline.

He never wanted to bother anyone, he was old school, and would just get on with his life without moans, groans  or complaint.

Charlie died at about 9am on May 15 while his carer was making him a cup of tea. He was the last of all the six Heale siblings, his older brother Cedric having died last year.

He leaves behind sons Martyn and Stephen, daughters-in-law Sue and Laila, and grandchildren Marvin, Charlene, Chris, Gemma and Lucy.

There will be a private family graveside funeral when it can be arranged, and, as so many local people have expressed a wish to attend his funeral, the family will hold a Memorial Church Service when the Covid-19 epidemic is over.