Harold Hazell 1929-2022. BGS -1947

Obituary provided by his son, Jeremy Hazell

I’m very sorry to have to inform you that my Father, Harold Hazell, passed away on 14th December.  He passed away peacefully at his home in Kent, at the age of 93,  surrounded by his family.  He would have been 94 on 12th December.

He was at Bristol Grammar School during the war years (I’m not sure of the exact dates) before going to Oxford University in 1948.   His younger brother, Mervyn Hazell, also attended BGS.  He is now 90 and living in Yatton.

After Oxford, Dad came back to Bristol and worked for Imperial Tobacco and Ashton Containers.  He also played hockey and cricket for Imperial and Brislington.  He met my Mum in Keynsham and they lived there after their marriage in 1957, before relocating (for work) to Cambridgeshire in 1960.  He worked for Tillotsons Corrugated Cases before the Company was bought by the St Regis Paper Co from the USA. By the time he retired in 1986 he was Chairman and CEO of St Regis International, having led an MBO from the Americans a few years earlier.  He finally settled in Norfolk and, in latter years, divided his time between there and his second home in the Algarve.

Dad always spoke very fondly of his time at BGS.  He played hockey and cricket.  He used to tell of the times he walked to school from the family home in Brislington, avoiding the damage from the previous night’s air raids.

Only a couple of years ago, I was able to drive him around Bristol which has obviously changed beyond all recognition.   We also drove up Park street around the BGS buildings and he recalled breaking a window with a cricket ball.

Sadly Dad was widowed in 2015 but is survived by his three children and two grandsons.