Sycamore Publishing

Celebrating Eddie

by Howard & Heather Tomlinson
(Paperback, limp bind)

£11.99

Heather and Howard’s book on their son, Eddie, is a kaleidoscope of twenty-four and a half years, chartering boy to man, of a life lived to the full, jam-packed with laughter, love and dazzling achievement.

It is also an honest account of how the loss of someone so young and so talented – so needlessly – shook their family’s relationship with God down to the bedrock. Anguish, grief, anger and guilt all combined to challenge their faith. Yet the book also reveals the slow and on-going process of rebuilding and renewing their Christian belief. Interspersed is Eddie’s diary from his final months in Lebanon, his written word resonant with wit and the humming of a gentle soul. There are also memories from people connected to Eddie’s passions, be it school or university, cricket, music or politics; but with one abiding common theme running through them all – that Eddie had a remarkable ability to ‘lighten’ a room simply with his presence. For those of us still on this side of heaven, although the sun has set, the light is not lost. It remains in us, and Howard and Heather have captured some of that light in the pages of this book.

Canon Dr Howard Tomlinson is a historian who taught at Wellington College, Berkshire, for over 10 years, and was Headmaster of Hereford Cathedral School (HCS), 1987-2005. He has written a number of books and articles on early modern British History, and is currently working on a history of HCS. He was installed as one of the first four lay canons of Hereford Cathedral in February 2005.

Dr Heather Tomlinson was Head of Religious Studies at Hereford Cathedral Junior School, 1999-2009.  Her PhD thesis was on Victorian prisons, and she is the author of several articles on aspects of Victorian criminology.

They have three other children and seven grand-children.

All profits from the sale of their book will be divided between three charities they are supporting in Eddie’s name:  BODS, a Herefordshire based outdoor education charity for young people; CO Gas Safety, a charity which raises awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning; and The Primary Club, the cricketers’ charity for the blind and partially sighted.