Whether you feel the past year has been unfairly hard or gratifyingly rewarding, we are all losers in one sense.  

2023 has seen the deaths of some of the most prominent figures in our community, and we are all left poorer by their absence. 

Here we take a look back at some of the brightest lights that went out in the worlds of business, politics and sport. 

Baroness Masham 

Baroness Masham (main picture) was a Paralympian medallist, disability rights campaigner, and the longest-serving female member the House of Lords has ever seen. 

Born Susan Sinclair on April 14, 1935, she became a wheelchair-user after injuring her spinal cord in a riding accident in 1958. 

In 1959 she married David Cunliffe-Lister, who became Earl of Swinton in 1972, to become Lady Masham. 

She served as a cross-bench peer for 53 years after becoming Baroness Masham of Ilton in 1970. 

Baroness Masham won medals in swimming and table tennis at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Paralympic games. 

In 1974 she founded the Spinal Injuries Association and remained its president until her death. 

She belonged to various parliamentary committees and last spoke in the House of Lords on February 2 this year.  

Baroness Masham was the aunt of Mark Cunliffe-Lister, the 4th Earl of Swinton and husband of Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, North Yorkshire councillor for the Masham and Fountains division.

She died aged 87 at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton on Sunday, March 12, 2023. 

Guy Tweedy, a Harrogate thalidomide campaigner and trustee of Disability Action Yorkshire, said: 

“Baroness Masham was a formidable woman. She was a trailblazer for disability rights, along with Lord Morris of Manchester and Baron Ashley of Stoke. 

“Without the work of those three we wouldn’t be where we are today with disability rights.”

George Dunnington

George Dunnington was life president of Harrogate Town AFC and had been involved with the club for seven decades when he died this summer. 

Mr Dunnington, 86, was first involved with the club as a player in the 1950s. 

When his playing days ended in the 1980s he helped the club build a new stand, floodlights, terracing, turnstiles and changing rooms with a team of workers. 

George Dunnington.

Mr Dunnington was chairman from 1986 to 1998, and was then elected club president in 2012/13, before becoming one of the inaugural inductees in the club’s Hall of Fame in February 2023. 

He died on Sunday, August 20, 2023. 

The club said in a statement: 

“George was an inspiration to everyone at the club, his positivity, friendly nature and determination leaving a lasting legacy at the club he dedicated such a big part of his life to.”

David Kitching

David Kitching, who founded the Harrogate firm Kitching Plant Hire, died in August, aged 80. 

David, who was born in Bridlington and brought up in Pateley Bridge, founded the firm as D&S Kitching with wife Shirley in 1967. 

The company began operating out of a small yard and workshop in Darley, where the couple lived. After a stint at Hookstone Park in Harrogate in the early 1990s, it moved to its present location, the former Harrogate bus depot on Camwal Road in Starbeck, in the early 2000s. 

David Kitching.

The firm now employs about 20 staff and has more than 400 machines for hire, including diggers, rollers and cement mixers. 

David stepped back from day-to-day involvement with the company a few years ago.

Mr Kitching’s funeral in Birstwith was followed by a celebration of his life at the Wellington Inn in Darley, where guests wore a hint of yellow as a nod to the yellow machinery that contributed so much to Mr Kitching’s life.

Charles Smailes

Charles Smailes was one of the most recognised and well-respected figures in Harrogate estate agency. 

The third of four sons of former Yorkshire and England cricketer Frank Smailes and Dorothy Smailes (née Stubbs), Charles Richard Rex Smailes started his property career in 1963.  

Over the course of 57 years, he made an indelible mark on the property industry, not least by co-founding Feather Smailes Scales (FSS), on Raglan Street, with Jim Feather and Peter Scales in 1994. FSS continues to thrive, now under the stewardship of his son Richard Smailes, along with partners Simon Croft and Dan Brumfitt. 

Charles Smailes.

Charles was elected President of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) in 2006 and played a pivotal role in the creation and implementation of the National Federation of Property Professionals (now PropertyMark), a professional body committed to upholding the standards of property agents across the UK. 

He served as an adviser to the then Housing Minister, Yvette Cooper, and even lectured in property auctioneering at the NAEA headquarters in Warwick. 

Charles also became a familiar face on BBC TV’s “Homes Under the Hammer“, sharing his expertise with a broader audience. 

In partnership with Stanley and Audrey Burton, he was instrumental in founding the Harrogate Families Housing Association (now Harrogate Housing Association) in 1968 and led it for more than 25 years, helping to provide high-quality accommodation to vulnerable homeless families in the district. 

Charles died on Monday, October 9, 2023. 

In a website obituary, FSS described Charles as “a true leader and visionary whose impact on Harrogate’s estate agency community will be felt for generations to come”. 

Sylvia Grice 

Over the course of half a century, Sylvia Grice taught an estimated 250,000 people to swim, including Olympic diving champion Jack Laugher.

Sylvia, who lived in Littlethorpe, near Ripon, devoted much of her life to teaching people to swim in a city that has three rivers and a canal. She was awarded an MBE in 2010 and given the Freedom of the City of Ripon in 2019. 

Sylvia learned to swim when she was 15 and got married to husband Jim at the age of 20. 

It was when she used to take her daughters, Helen and Alison, to swim at Ripon’s Spa Baths that she caught the eye of the manager Fred Windsor, who encouraged her to become a qualified swimming teacher. 

Sylvia Grice.

She went on to become an Amateur Swimming Association (now Swim England) tutor and a Fellow of the Institute of Swimming Teachers, and used her qualifications to teach people of all ages and abilities to swim – including her own mother-in-law.

She taught people to swim at Ripon Grammar School and at Ashville College in Harrogate, where she set up Triton Swimmers, and also found time to run the Spa Gardens café, be an active member of Ripon Lions, and raise money for numerous charitable causes. 

When Sylvia died aged 90 on Monday, October 30, 2023, hundreds of people from across Ripon and far beyond paid tribute. One called her: 

“One of the most incredible and impactful women I have ever had the joy to meet.” 

Another said simply: 

“What a Ripon legend.” 

Ian Audsley

Ian Audsley was one of the best-known butchers in the Harrogate area.  

He launched his business in 1970, and his shop on St Winifred’s Avenue West, JE Audsley Family Butcher, became of one of the best-regarded butcher’s shops in the region.  

Ian Audsley in his shop, with son John second from right.

Now run by his son, John, it continues to command loyalty among many of its clientele. 

Ian died aged 84 on Monday, December 11, 2023. 

A notice issued by his family said:  

“Ian’s impact extends far beyond the business he founded; it encompasses the relationships he nurtured, the moments he shared, and the lives he touched.

“His genuine kindness, infectious spirit, and commitment to community service have left an indelible mark on all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

Read more:

• Baroness Masham dies aged 87
• Harrogate Town life president George Dunnington dies
• Harrogate estate agent founding partner dies
• ‘Remarkable’ and ‘inspirational’ Ripon woman Sylvia Grice dies
• Well-known Harrogate family business mourns death of founder

David Kitching, who founded the Harrogate firm Kitching Plant Hire, has died at the age of 80.

Mr Kitching, who was born in Bridlington and brought up in Pateley Bridge, founded the firm as D&S Kitching with wife Shirley in 1967.

The company began operating out of a small yard and workshop in Darley, where Mr Kiching lived.

It moved to Hookstone Park in Harrogate in the early 1990s but outgrew the premises and moved to its present location, the former Harrogate bus depot on Camwal Road in Starbeck, in the early 2000s.

The firm now employs about 20 staff and has more than 400 machines for hire, including  diggers, rollers and cement mixers

The Camwal Road site in Starbeck.

Mr Kitching stepped back from day-to-day involvement with the company a few years ago.

A message on the firm’s Facebook page, posted by Shirley and sons Jason and Matthew, who are both directors of the firm, said:

“A void in our family has been formed which can never be ratified and we will miss him greatly.”.

Mr Kitching’s funeral will be held on September 1 at St James’ Church in Birstwith, It will be followed by a celebration of his life at the Wellington Inn in Darley.

Guests are requested to wear a hint of yellow as a nod to the yellow machinery that contributed so much to Mr Kitching’s life.

As a mark of respect, the business will close on the day of the funeral and reopen on September 4.

Read more:

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• Memorial service for long-serving Harrogate councillor