New road name honours ‘Mr Thatcham’ Malcom Langford

A road has been named after a late Thatcham resident with a "special” unveiling recently.

Malcom Langford, who was an electrician, historian and metal detectorist among many things, passed away in December 2020.

Mr Langford died at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, aged 76, leaving behind a wife and four children.

His family and former colleagues came to witness the naming ceremony on March 29 and hear speeches from family members and the Thatcham mayor.

Councillor Owen Jeffery put forward Mr Langford as a possible name choice and it was formally raised, on his behalf, by John Boyd in a Planning and Highways committee meeting.

The proposal was met with agreement from councillor Paul Field, who said he had a memory of bumping into the “lovely man” while dog walking.

Mr Boyd added: “He would do anything for anybody in the town.

“After retirement he took up metal detecting and found the oldest coin in the UK. It supported his theory that Thatcham was the oldest continuously inhabited location in Britain.”

He added: “He would go to schools and read to the children. He had grandchildren in school. He took puppets and things to educate them.

“You just had to meet him. It was well deserved. It was a shame he could not have been there to see it.”

Mr Langford's widow Carole Langford was presented with a bouquet of flowers. A small reception was held afterwards, at The Swan Pub in his memory.