Tributes paid to road accident victims

By [lghose]

AN horrific crash on the A37 between Dorchester and Yeovil claimed the lives of an accomplished artist and his wife, it has been revealed.

Alastair and Sheila Flattely, of Windy Ridge, Beaminster, died when their car erupted into flames after a collision with an articulated lorry at Holywell Crossroads on 29 May.

The couple had no children of their own and nephews Christopher and Nicholas Houghton are sorting out the funeral arrangements.

Christopher Houghton of Oxford said: "My uncle was an accomplished artist in various media and won many prizes and scholarships, including Paris and Stockholm.

"He held numerous exhibitions, his last being in Edinburgh in 2003. My aunt was an accomplished needlewoman and a consummate hostess."

Mr Flattely, aged 86, originally from Aberdeenshire, served in the army during World War Two but was discharged owing to bronchitis.

After working as an artist for The Illustrated London News, he became an art teacher and in 1960 became vice principal and head of fine art at the Gloucestershire College of Art.

In 1986, he was appointed professor and he retired a year later. He was a member of the Royal West of England Academy and president of the Cheltenham Group of Artists from 1968-72. He has numerous works in public and private collections.

Mrs Flattely, 85, served in the Wrens for two years and was part of the team that cracked the Enigma code Germany was using to send military messages.

She graduated from Edinburgh College of Domestic Science and later became a teacher. The couple married in 1957 and moved to Dorset in the 1990s.

TRIBUTES have been paid to a Dorchester father, who was found dead in a car which left the A37 at Frampton last month.

Thomas Walker Mitchell, aged 28, was a father-of-one.

On behalf of the family, his mother said: "He was an incredibly warm and affectionate person who was devoted to his partner and family and loved his children very much.

"He will be greatly missed by all who loved and knew him. Tom was a sensitive and caring person both in his work and personal life. He was practically minded and picked up skills quickly.

"He loved the outdoors and in the past enjoyed cycling, climbing and walking. Tom also loved animals, particularly cats. Formula 1, darts, snooker and computer games were among his other interests."

Mr Walker Mitchell lived in Dorchester as a child, and spent his teenage years in Bournemouth attending St Peters School. He returned to Dorchester in 2005 to work in Dorset County Hospital.