Captain of industry and a great benefactor

A most successful businessman and investor who in retirement became a serious philanthropist by donating millions of pounds into the research of Parkinsons. Having been born in London on November 27th 1912 Winston Godward Edmonds (later always known as Bill) was educated in the Capital yet seemed destined to spend his career in the North. In retirement Bill Edmonds would spend most his retirement in Torquay.

Having met his first wife Sheila in Manchester in 1940 Bill had already chosen to spend his working life in Manchester, although for a short time lived in Hull. It was in Manchester his career in traffic management started through an apprenticeship with the London and North East Railway Company in 1937. Yet he knew he would likely need to respond to the UK call-up papers which occurred in September 1938.

With the start of the Second World War Bill chose to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) based in France before later the Royal Engineers in Iraq and finally in India. He eventually became a Lieutenant Colonel and at the end of war soon recommenced his chosen career, this time with the Manchester Ship Canal Company (MSC). During the war years Bill had married his sweetheart Sheila and on retiring from the Army they were blessed with a child John in 1947.

As assistant traffic manager at MSC and residing at Prestbury Manchester Bill became a keen golfer and then a life member of the Club. He was also a successful on the British stock market and eventually amassed a fortune. Promoted to traffic manager of MSC he finally in 1959 became General Manager of MSC.

Throughout the sixties Bill became MSC Managing Director and in 1966 was awarded a CBE for his long service to shipping. It was to be four years later that he retired from a career that had spanned 30 years. Yet retirement was not enjoyable because his beloved Sheila during the mid 70’s was showing the early symptom’s of Parkinson’s which would eventually turn into a very progressive neurological disorder that affected both her speech and swallow. She also became unable to walk or write. Bill would now spend over  twenty years helping his wife daily as her condition deteriorated until she then contracted dementia. Then having been moved to a nursing home she died there in 1990.

When reflecting on his life Bill decided he would leave his substantial wealth to help others deal with what was then incurable diseases. He became one of the largest private philanthropists ever seen in Britain, and after his death his son confirmed “dad nursed my mother for many years through what was a long and difficult illness and he was absolutely shattered when she died”. With Bill always wanting to reside in Devon he had brought his family on holiday to Teignmouth for years and now having met Alice aboard a cruise in 1994 (she had lived here for 20 years) it was perhaps destiny that Bill should finally return to Devonshire for his final years. Bill was 78 when moving into Thatcher Avenue Wellswood in 1995 and soon he and Alice married. Now Professor Crossman of Manchester University regularly visited them as Bill had expressed a wish to be kept updated on current research into Parkinson's. During those meetings Bill said he must aid the research into what had killed his beloved wife Sheila -  research that was now called “models of human movement disorder to study underlying neuropathological or neurochemical abnormalities”.

Bill in memory of Sheila became a most generous benefactor and also willed a huge gift to the Manchester Scheme and £5000 to the Royal  SPC plus £10,000 to the Royal British Legion. Now he set an Alice Edmondson Foundation Trust to honour Alice through a £200,000 gift to Rowcroft Foundation in Torquay. Mr Edmonds CBE died at his home on July 21 2005 aged 92 leaving an estate of more than £5 million.