A dedicated man who collected with passion

The 97-year-old spent most of his life collecting historical postcards, cigarette cards and an array of curious printed matter, amassing an impressive collection that made him very well known.

His family were surrounding him when he died peacefully at home on December 23.

Having started at the age of nine, Mr Usher collected for almost the rest of his life and had tens of thousands of cards on practically every conceivable subject and dating back to around 1880.

The father of four daughters also had cards with silk embroidery which soldiers in the two world wars sent to their wives and girlfriends and a Japanese card made of balsa-wood.

Well known by Lock and England in Leamington for his regular attendance at the firm’s auctions, Mr Usher would also travel around the country to attend auctions and postcard fairs and to scour junk shops and market stalls. He was also the founding member of the Heart of England Postcard and Cigarette Card Collectors’ Society.

As well as appearing in the Courier on numerous occasions for his impressive dedication to his hobby, Mr Usher – known as a ‘cartophilist’ – also gave talks around Warwickshire on the subject, had displays in the Pump Room and was invited by the BBC to speak on the radio about his hobby.

His daughter Eileen Aston said: “Right up until 18 months ago, he was collecting. He had two sisters and two brothers and they had all passed away, but Dad was still going. He was amazing.”

Born in Southam in 1914, Mr Usher went on to work as an engineer at British Aero Components (now known as Kigass) in Leamington for 31 years, was married to his wife Doris for 73 years and saw the birth of ten grandchildren and 20 great-granchildren.

He took an early retirement at the age of 63 due to developing stomach ulcers, but he later recovered and remained in good health during the later years of his life.

He lived in Strathearn Road in Milverton for 46 years and would often be seen walking his dog Kim up and down the street. Despite his time-consuming interest in card-collecting, Mr Usher found time to pursue other interests, including fishing, painting and writing poetry.

He also co-produced a calender called ‘Reflections of a bygone age in Warwickshire’, made up of his collections and those of his friend Mike Clark, of Warwick.

His daughter Pamela Mazurek said: “He also liked a good sing-song and had a really good sense of humour.

“Our father was very clever. He seemed to know everything. He was very good at history. You could always talk to him. He was well-liked and had a lot of friends.”

Mrs Aston added: “He was a typical Leo - he as very strong-minded and knew what he wanted right up until the end.

“He used to hate stopping in and would make sure he went out every day. He was quite a character.”

A funeral for Mr Usher, who also leaves his two other daughters, Mavis and Christine, and his wife Doris, took place at Oakley Wood crematorium on January 10.