Edwin Sadd (Ed)
West 1967-72
Edwin was born in Maldon in 1954, the second of four children of T H Sadd, West 1926-30. He followed his elder brother Alfred, West 1966-71, to The Leys, where he developed a love for the outdoors in preference to the classroom. Family holidays revolved around sailing, so to be able to continue that at school was a boon. However, the thing that most shaped his future life was scouting under the inspirational leadership of Richard Armstrong. Expeditions to the Lake District and especially Assynt in the North-West Highlands sowed the seed for his future path in life. On leaving The Leys he studied Food Science at South Bank Polytechnic, where he made the most of the further education experience which involved many hundreds of miles on his beloved Triumph motorcycles and where he added to the lifelong friendships he made at The Leys.
His next move was to buy an old Land-rover and set off across the Sahara, through West Africa to Kenya. This was followed by two more expeditions up the Nile through Egypt and Sudan, again finishing in Kenya where he married Gail, whom he had met there, on the previous trip. They set up Bushbuck Adventures running camping safaris which ran until 1998 when they returned to the UK and settled in Dorset. Back home the family history in timber caught up with him and he started a shed business in Shaftesbury which is still going to this day. His love of the outdoors was always omnipresent and he spent many hours on his allotments and was also involved in planting trees.
Edwin was a quiet person, a reluctant leader, always happy to stop and chat and lend a hand. He helped Richard Armstrong with the organisation of the Leys Assynt reunions, and took over when Richard became ill. Edwin died on a family trip exploring the Silk Road in Uzbekistan doing what he loved: experiencing different cultures and meeting new people.
He will be missed but also remembered with love by his wide circle of family and friends.
Words by George Sadd, West 1968-73
The photograph shows Edwin in his beloved Assynt.