One of Marlow Bottom’s favourite sons has died.

Malcolm Douglas McIntyre-Ure, who lived in the village for several years, was born in Slough on March 13, 1932, and later became known within Berks and Bucks for being an exceptional journalist and photographer, working for many local titles.

These publications included the Marlow Times, Henley Gazette, Beaconsfield Chronicle, Wycombe Observer, Slough Observer, Irish Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Maidenhead Advertiser, for which he was the chief photographer at the latter.

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Spending much of his life on the move, he also lived in other parts of Buckinghamshire such as High Wycombe and Winslow, before moving to his final home in Llanbrynmair in Wales.

But after suffering from a leaking heart valve, something he had since birth, he was admitted to hospital on July 7 before sadly passing away on September 9, 2020 at the age of 88.

One of his closest friends, Peter Kemp, wrote this brief biography of Mr McIntyre-Ure’s life.

He said: “He moved to Marlow Bottom with his mother, brother Alan, sister Jean and a lodger in 1938.

“His father had left his mother the year before Malcolm’s birth and their first home was a wooden bungalow (‘Canberra’) at the Ragmans Lane end of the Valley.

“Less than a year later, they moved to ‘Woodlands’, a wooden bungalow on brick piles, without electricity or water supplies, situated beyond ‘Whitehill Cottage’.

Malcolm recalled: “In 1949, my mother allowed the then former lodger to sell our home and moved with me into one of the pigsties [on the bungalow’s farmed smallholding].

“My elder sister went into a hostel and my brother into posh digs [in Marlow] with an inside toilet and bathroom.”

“To his relief, at Christmas 1950 Malcolm was conscripted into the Army Catering Corps, where he remained until 1952.

“Upon his return, he moved into ‘Sam Rose’, a 7ft x 17ft wooden construction built between the wars by Sam and Rose Richardson and located at what is now 75 Marlow Bottom.

“At the time, Malcolm’s sister Jean was renting the property (for £1 seven shillings, six days week), comprising a 20-feet frontage and extending back to Hunts Wood behind it, connected to electricity but without a water supply.

“Water was obtainable from a standpipe and Malcolm, already a keen amateur photographer was obliged to wash even his colour photographs under this water flow.

“In 1956, Malcolm purchased ‘Sam Rose’ for £100 from its lady owner; subsequently he also purchased the adjoining plot.

“Between 1955 and 1959 he worked as a mechanical transport driver for RAF Medmenham, where his driving skills recommended him for special assignments, including deliveries (he only later learned) to a site linked to GCHQ.

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“When HM Queen Elizabeth II visited Medmenham on one occasion, Malcolm was put on standby, should it prove necessary to drive the monarch from the establishment at high speed.

“Of particular and enduring importance for Marlow Bottom residents is the fact that, over almost 30 years, Malcolm recorded the minutiae of Valley life on thousands of photographs, several of which featured in the 2017 exhibition at the Marlow Museum: 'From Tin Town to Des. Res. The Story of Marlow Bottom.'

“In late 1962, ‘Sam Rose’ was demolished and replaced in 1963 by ‘Sam Rose 2’, a modern single-storey brick-built bungalow, constructed on the same site by builder Geoff Redgrave (father of Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave CBE DL), before selling

“In 1969, Malcolm sold the property at 75 Marlow Bottom

Malcolm moved first to a new, Geoff Redgrave-built chalet bungalow (boasting two bathrooms) at 7 New Road but was obliged to sell it after suffering a breakdown while working for the Maidenhead Advertiser.

“For a while, his home at 7 New Road even served as the production office for the Marlow Times.

“There, Malcolm indulged his passions for beekeeping and gardening, delighting in the flowers, birds, butterflies, and every aspect of the natural world.

“He was admitted to Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, on July 7 and passed away at the Llanidloes & District War Memorial Hospital on September 9, 2020, aged 88.

“He was a lovely, affable man who was always generous to others, though possessing little of his own.

“Over many years in Llanbrynmair, Malcolm helped out at several local charity shops.

“It was through working at the Cariad charity shop that he became acquainted with the work of the Myosotis Trust in Machynlleth, whose current project is raising funds to build a new children’s home in Barlad, Romania.

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“Malcolm’s final charitable gesture was to leave his home to the trust to help them realise this worthy venture.

“A service of thanksgiving for Malcolm’s life was held on September 17 at Aberystwyth Crematorium, whose vast chapel window commands a magnificent view of the Cynfelyn Valley.

“For Malcolm, a man with such an abiding love of nature, there could have been no more fitting a farewell.”