FRIENDS have paid tribute to one of the stalwarts of Thornbury’s arts scene after his death during an extreme turbulence incident on a passenger jet.
Geoff Kitchen died when a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore experienced a sudden and violent drop in altitude, injuring more than 100 other passengers, more than 50 of whom were still in hospital yesterday, including his wife, Linda.
Geoff, who is believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest, was a long-standing member of the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group, which released a statement paying tribute to him on social media.
The group said: “It is with a heavy heart that we learn of the devastating news of the passing of our esteemed colleague and friend Geoff Kitchen in the recent Singapore Air Incident.
“Geoff was always a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity and always did what was right for the group.
“His commitment to TMTG was unquestionable and he has served the group and the local community of Thornbury for over 35 years, holding various offices within the group, including Chairman, Treasurer and most recently Secretary.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and the family at this difficult time, and we ask that you respect their privacy.”
In his role as secretary of the group Geoff wrote an open letter last year, which was signed by 250 people, calling for action to reopen the town’s Armstrong Hall complex that has been closed since the lockdown of 2020.
The letter had some success, with the trust responsible for the hall launching new consultation process aimed at finding viable options for the future later in the year.
Geoff, who was born in Bristol but had lived in Thornbury for many years, also stood for election to the town council last year, but narrowly missed out.
He was remembered by people making comments on TMTG’s Facebook page, who described him as a “lovely man”, “very talented and great fun to work with” and a “tremendous chap who had time for everyone”.