WELL-known dale councillor Ted Henderson might have been a steeplejack like his father, Edward.
“When I was nine or ten I told my dad I wanted to follow him” , he recalls. “But when he took me right to the top of a 500-feet high stack and I looked over the side I decided that’s not for me.” It’s maybe just as well. Looking at his well-padded frame, Ted declares “this body was built for comfort, not for speed” .
Born in Sunderland, Ted was in fact destined to become a baker. An only child and educated at a private school, at 15 he joined the family business of bakers and confectioners in Roker run by his mother, Winnie, and her two sisters, but after two years of “getting up early and working late” , Ted left for more amenable work. He did “all sorts” connected with promotions and PR, ending up organising social events for Vaux Breweries.
On the way Ted missed out on a showbiz career as drummer in a pop group Chris Warren and the Strangers. The lads won the 1965 All-Britain Beat Contest and made a record. “It was number 25 in Outer Mongolia,” jokes Ted. Far from charting anywhere, their “demo disc” failed to attract any of the big music publishers and was never issued. Ted was already familiar with Teesdale when he and his wife, Christine, started having caravan holidays at Middleton. They bought their present home in nearby Eggleston some 25 years ago after their three children had all left home. Long interested in doing something for the community – “I like to put something back” – Ted was asked to join Eggleston Parish Council and is still a member after doing time as chairman. Election to Durham County Council followed, along with Ted joining the Conservative party which he has supported all his life. There was a major change in May last year when a coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Independents ended decades of Labour control. Ted is now the portfolio holder for children and young people’s services – “practically a full-time job” he says. Also taking up his time is an active participation in the Teesdale Action Partnership, TAP for short.
The Hendersons love Teesdale with a passion. “If God made a better place, he kept it a secret,” declares Ted.
– By Chris Foote-Wood
