Mr Albert Spedding, former General Manager & Actuary of UK Provident (later merged with Friends Provident) has died at the age of 90.

Albert was born in 1932 in Hutton Henry, a small farming community in County Durham.

He lived in Downton from 1977 until 2004, when he and his wife Sheila moved to Hambledon in Hampshire.

He graduated in Mathematics and Statistics at Manchester University at the age of 20 and qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries five years later.

He joined Norwich Union as an actuarial student, and his first managerial appointment was as Manager & Actuary of the Life Operations of the Swiss Reinsurance Company in Australia and New Zealand.

He then became Manager & Actuary of International Life Insurance company in the UK, before joining UK Provident in 1976. He retired in1986, and later became a Staff Tutor with the Institute of Actuaries.

During his time in Australia, he was a member of Council of the Australian Institute, and at the time of leaving Australia was Vice-Chairman of the Victoria Branch of the Institute.

He presented a number of papers to the Australian Institute, the Staple Inn Students Society (London) and the International Association of Actuaries (Canada).

He was a keen sportsman and played cricket for Durham County Youth team and Manchester University. He held office in the Round Table, Rotary and Past Rotarians organisations.

Locally, he was active in The Downton Society, The Moot Lane Pavilion Association and the Moot Preservation Trust, as well as being Chairman of Governors of Downton Secondary School. 

The family moved to Hambledon, Hampshire in 2004, where a keen interest was taken in local societies’ activities.

Pre-deceased by his wife (Dr Sheila Spedding) and son (David), he leaves four children and three grandchildren.