A town council observed a minute’s silence to remember all those who died in 2024 – including two American Tik Tok sensations Peanut the Squirrel, Fred the Raccoon and Boris, a 58-year-old chimpanzee who died at Chester Zoo.
Wisbech Town Council has a tradition dating back 11 years of honouring “all the notable people around the world” who have died that year reading out their names at the last meeting of the year.
It then reads a list of local people who have passed away providing friends and family have requested it.
Newly released minutes of the last town council meeting of 2024 reveal the names of those honoured.
The list was compiled – and read out – by Cllr Steve Tierney who invited colleagues to observe the one minute’s silence “for those whose names are well-known to many but also for those who, while not famous or well-known, are nonetheless sadly missed by those who knew and loved them”.
Midway through a lengthy list – that included actress Maggie Smith, June Spencer (Peggy Woolley in the Archers) and politicians Alex Salmond and John Prescott – came the names of Boris, Peanut and Fred.
Boris, said Cllr Tierney, was the “celebrated star of Chester Zoo, who made it to the great age of 58 years”.
Then came Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon who he said were “Tik Tok sensations, who had been taken and killed by an out-of-control bureaucracy”.
Peanut the Squirrel was a wild animal turned social media star who was seized from his owner’s home, content creator Mark Longo, and euthanized to test for rabies the same day.
Fred the Raccoon was also seized from Longo’s home and euthanized.
https://twitter.com/CaptainMorganTN/status/1852627273930674456
Peanut the squirrel, known as P-nut, and Fred were widely known on their owner’s social media accounts as he shared videos of him with both pets.
Last July Chester Zoo reported that Boris, who was the grand age of 58, had been in good health up until recent months when he started to develop some age-related conditions.
“As one of the zoo’s most senior residents, our veterinary and primate experts had been helping him with daily medication and geriatric care but, sadly, due to a sudden deterioration to his condition, the incredibly difficult decision was made to put him to sleep,” said a zoo statement.
“Our teams have been reflecting on the extraordinary legacy Boris has had on the critically endangered species and celebrating his remarkable life, which started with him being rescued from the window of a pet shop in New York.”
Cllr Tierney told the town council that the names he read out were “not a complete or exhaustive list and for any people who may have been missed it was certainly not intentional”, and the council’s minute’s silence includes those un-named as well as those named.
Council minutes recall: “All of those present at the meeting observed one minute’s silence for all those people who had passed away during the year, remembering that each individual who is no longer with us, whether he or she died through natural causes or otherwise, is a loss to us all.”
The councillor who instigated the tradition was Cllr Dave Patrick who, 11 years, invited the council to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela who died on December 5, 2013, at the age of ninety-five.
He suggested Wisbech Town Council acknowledge the death but then saw his proposal amended to include a long diverse range of people who died.
Cllr Patrick is still a member of the council but admits he had not realised a raccoon, a squirrel and a dead chimpanzee featured in the 2024 list.
“To be honest the list was read out so quickly I lost all interest in it – like most other councillors,” he said. “I really did not tweak some of the absurd deaths councillor Tierney mentioned.
“In truth this whole thing has lost its merit and all it does is to give councillor Tierney another opportunity to make a speech which is absolutely pathetic.”
Cllr Patrick added: “Only a handful of local names were read out, and no mention two of those who died locally were former Wisbech mayors. Yet we include them in a list of deaths that feature a dead raccoon, a dead squirrel, and a dead chimpanzee.
“It’s descended into a total farce and has lost any real value.”
Local people whose family asked that they be included in the list were
Stuart Smith
Michael Bedford
Steven Williams
Kathleen Brennan (a former Mayor)
Avis Gilliatt (a former Mayor)
Geoff Harvey.
The main list comprised for 2024:
Maggie Smith (actress), James Earl Jones (actor; the voice of Darth Vader), Glynis Johns (actress), Shannon Doherty (actress), Shelley Duvall (actress), Tony Todd (actor, who had played the role of Candyman).
Michael Newman (actor), John Amos (actor), Gena Rowlands (actress), Donald Sutherland (actor), Barbara Rush (actress), Carl Weathers (actor), Ron Ely (actor, who had played the original 1960’s Tarzan), Timothy West (actor), June Spencer (actress, who had played the role of Peggy Wooley in The Archers radio series).
David Graham (voice actor, who had been the voice of both the Daleks and Grandpa Pig), Jeannette Charles (an actress who had portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in many movies and TV shows), Liam Payne (a member of the group One Direction), David Soul (actor and singer), Paul Di’Anno (former vocalist of the band Iron Maiden).
Anne Whitfield (actress), Richard Lewis (comedian), Cissy Houston (acclaimed gospel and soul singer), Kris Kristofferson (actor and singer), Sergio Mendes (Brazilian pianist), Peter Sinfield (lyricist), Vic Flick (guitarist), Martin Lee (a member of the musical group Brotherhood of Man), Chris Serle (presenter), Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson (who had been the frontman of the band Selecter).
Colin Gibb (a member of the band Black Lace), Richard Tandy (the longtime Electric Light Orchestra keyboardist who voiced “Mr. Blue Sky” in the band’s song of the same name), Shifty Shellshock (of Crazy Town), Phil Lesh (a member of the band The Grateful Dead), Quincy Jones (famed music producer).
Dr Ruth Westheimer (sex therapist), Colin Renfrew (British archaeologist), Marius Bațu 64 (Romanian folk singer), Greg Hildebrandt (fantasy and sci-fi artist), Phil Donahue (broadcaster), Richard Simmons (flamboyant fitness guru).
Boris the chimpanzee (the celebrated star of Chester Zoo, who made it to the great age of 58 years), Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon (Tik Tok sensations, who had been taken and killed by an out-of-control bureaucracy).
Bobby Allison (Nascar driver), Lynda Obst (producer), Georgina Cooper (supermodel), Geoff Capes (one time World’s Strongest Man), Gary Shaw (footballer), Sven-Göran Eriksson (manager of the England Football team between 2000 and 2006), David Wilkie (British Olympic swimmer), Frank Field and John Prescott (Labour politicians), Alex Salmond (politician), Dexter Scott King (son of Dr Martin Luther King Jr).
The minute’s silence tradition that began in 2013 with Cllr Patrick proposing it and Cllr Ginny Bucknor seconding the motion invited councillors to stand for a minute’s silence to note the passing of Nelson Mandela.
Cllr Tierney proposed an amendment, seconded by Cllr Michelle Tanfield, that the town council begin its final meeting in the annual calendar year with a minute’s silence for all those who have passed away during that year.
With the motion agreed, members stood to note the passing that year of:
Journalist David Frost Film Director Michael Winner Singers Bernadette Nolan, Patti Page and Lou Reed Author Tom Clancy Heavyweight Boxers Ken Norton & Tommy Morrison Grammy Award Winning Musician JJ Cale Helen Thomas, pioneer for Women In Journalism War Correspondent Michael Hastings Actors Paul Walker from The Fast And The Furious.
Lewis Collins from The Professionals, Anna Wing from Eastenders, Cory Monteith from Glee, James Gandolfini from The Sopranos and Richard Briars from The Good Life Writer Doris Lessing, who won the Nobel prize for literature Marcia Wallace, voice of the Simpsons Prominent Feminist Mary Thom
Local councillors, colleagues and friends Mac Cotterall, Robert Scrimshaw & also Mick Speechley who passed away very recently.
“And most particularly to the famous leaders and politicians Margaret Thatcher and Nelson Mandela. And to the Army Drummer, Lee Rigby, who was so brutally murdered by terrorists in full public view this year,” the minutes record.
“To each and every individual who has lost their life through illness, misadventure or old age regardless of whether they were a household name, or just an important person to their own household, and all those who lost their lives in the South African political unrest.
“In the knowledge that every person who dies leaves behind loved ones and leaves the world a darker place for their passing.”
