It is with great regret that we have to announce the sad news of the death of our great friend and mentor, Mike Chitty: 9th January 1949—18th June 2023
This is the first time we have had the opportunity to reflect on Mike’s passing, on our website.
Mike died in Whiston Hospital on 18th June after a short illness.
He was a founder member of the Wavertree Society and was an inspiration to us all. Mike was the “go to” person for any query relating to planning, ancestry etc. He was contacted by people from all over the world who were researching their family history and if he couldn’t give them the answer they needed, he could direct them to where they could get the information.
Although we provided him with our membership and accounts details, he was our IT person who put them into spreadsheets etc. He kept all the Society’s archive and he also edited the newsletter. Mike alone set up, ran and updated our excellent website. He was a great correspondent, writing numerous emails to various authorities re planning and legal matters. He was a leading advocate in the two Planning Enquiries to save Sandown Hall.
Originally Mike had lived in Fieldway in the Wavertree Garden Suburb and he became an expert in all things to do with the suburb, giving talks and taking many groups on guided tours around it. He was a vigorous campaigner for the importance of saving the history and heritage of Wavertree. We will miss him terribly.
No one had a greater knowledge of the two conservation areas in Wavertree than Mike and his book ‘Discovering Historic Wavertree’ (sadly now out of print) is the definitive source of information for the area.
We have been able to recover only a small section of data from Mike’s computer with the help of his son Martin, but it will take a while before we can access more, especially our website. Please bear with us whilst we navigate our way through the new situation that we find ourselves in.
Finally, our thoughts and good wishes go out to Mike’s beloved wife Eryl and to Martin and Karen and their son Evan who Mike simply adored.
The Society will continue but never be the same again.
So sorry to hear of the passing of Mike. Sincerest condolences to his family and friends.