Jim O’Neil, a local historian and author, sadly passed away before Christmas. Carol O’Neil writes:
Dear All
As many of you will already know, Jim passed away very suddenly on 22nd December, having suffered a massive heart attack.
This has obviously been a great shock as he was so looking forward to having more spare time to enjoy his semi-retirement.
Jim’s funeral will be held on Monday 7th January, at 1p.m at Landican Crematorium, family and friends are welcome. Afterwards, at 1.45 p.m there will be a service in celebration of Jim’s life to be held at St Andrews (Hoylake with Meols) URC, Greenwood Road, Meols, Wirral, CH47 6AD. All are welcome, there will be light refreshments served in the church hall after the celebration service.
No flowers, but donations in memory of Jim will go to Wirral Environmental Network and The Centre for Alternative Technology.
One of the many projects that Jim undertook over the years was the restoration in 1980 of the old village pump at the corner of Pump Lane in Greasby. Over the years, most of the upkeep had been carried out by Jim who regularly visited the site to keep it spruced up. Of all his projects, Pump Lane was particuarly special to Jim and it is here that his ashes will be scattered (details to follow). Our son, Chris, hopes to be able to carry on with some of the maintenance work in the future. As he currently lives and works in London, this might not always be easy and he has asked that if anyone might be interested in assisting with this (either as an individual or maybe as part of a local history group) that they contact him directly at oneilmedia.co.uk
Thank you for all the messages of support that we have received in recent days, it really does help.
With very best wishes
Carol O’Neil
Ohh that is such sad news. I never met Jim but had always heard great stories about his historical knowledge. May his good works continue and may those who can, preserve his research.
So sorry to read about the sudden death of Jim. Although I never met him I have several of the books he published about Hoylake and Meols in days gone by. A wonderfull local historian who will be sadly missed.
I grew up in Hoylake and remember Jim very well. He was a true gent and I am sure will be missed. I will always remember our chats in the Study Centre. I practically lived there!
Thank you so much for who ever posted this on here, and thank you for the kind comments, means so much.
On behalf of the Friends of Hoylake and Meols in Bloom I would like to say how sad we were to hear of the death of Jim. He was a man who gave so much to our town and was always very supportive of our efforts. He will be very sadly missed
So sorry to hear of Jim’s death. I moved to Hoylake as a nine year old in 1985 and I visited the Study Centre all the time! I was lucky enough to gain Jim’s experience, advice and help when I wrote my history degree dissertation on the development of Hoylake from a fishing village to a residential / tourist town. I only saw him just before Christmas looking at information in Hoylake Library’s window – I remember recalling how he’d helped me! Having moved from my family home (one of the old cottages adjacent to Home Bargains) to Liverpool some 14 years ago, I have great affection for Hoylake, my time spent growing up there and Jim was a part of that. RIP Jim and thank you.
I am so sad to hear of Mr. O’Neil’s passing. I came to this website to thank him for “Hoylake Then & Now” that my sister gave to my mother for Christmas. She was born in and grew up in Hoylake 1920-1946 until she married my US Air Force Dad and moved to the United States. She has so many fond memories that were lovingly revived when she read this book. My condolences to Mr. O’Neil’s family; I hope it is of some comfort to know how far reaching his accomplishments were.
Really sorry to hear about the death of Jim- It came as a real shock-I saw him just before Christmas at his retirement do in RePaint he seemed to be so looking forward to having the time to spend doing things he’d put off. So sad. My condolences to his family-he was a truly lovely man.