|
Legacy
of love, house left to RAN
 |
|
Mrs
Melinda Squires with PO Paul Wetherspoon and ABBM Nikki
Kopacz on the occasion of her 100th birthday party at Mona
Vale Hospital on January 10, 2002.
Photo by ABPH Kelvin Hockey.
|
By Graham
Davis
One-hundred-year-old Mrs Melinda Squires, the lady who openly admitted
she “loved Navy people”, has passed away.
She has left a legacy which is a clear hallmark of that love.
In her last will and testament she has declared she wants her Manly
Vale home to go to an RAN family.
The family would be able to buy the home at a price five to ten
percent below the market value. It must hold the property for ten
years.
Colin Biggers and Paisley, the solicitors acting for the executors
and trustees of the will, have contacted Navy News and requested
the paper give Mrs Squires’ bequest the widest publicity.
Navy News told of Mrs Squires’ love of the RAN and sailors
in the March 18, 2002 edition.
Assistant Editor Graham Davis and photographer ABPH Kelvin Hockey
had attended her 100th birthday at Mona Vale Hospital where she
was receiving treatment for a broken bone in her ankle.
She put her longevity down to “lovely Navy people” and
“good eating.”
As our story said she had had a long association with the RAN, her
father Thomas McLeery serving as a petty officer on the first Sydney.
She maintained the links with the RAN communicating with members
of the Service particularly those in the latter Sydneys.
Regretfully, Mrs Squires died on May 25, 2002.
“In her will, Mrs Squires instructed her executors to make
inquiries to find a family connected with the RAN who would be prepared
to purchase her home and contents on the condition that the purchaser
agree not to sell the house for at least ten years,” Ms Sue
Tan of Colin Biggers and Paisley, said.
“In return, the executors are instructed to sell the house
for between 5% and 10% lower than market value.
“The house is located at 22 Burchmore Road, Manly Vale and
is not in good condition,” Ms Tan said.
Any sailor interested in purchasing the home should contact Ms Tan
on 02 8281 4555 or write to her at GPO Box 214, Sydney, 2001.
|
