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Remembering Len Webb (1935-2025)
23rd June 2025
Len Webb, our dear friend and volunteer, died peacefully on 5th June, surrounded by his family. For over 20 years, Len gave up his time each week to help bring the visual world of picture books and learning to life for blind and visually impaired children. Now, we want to honour his legacy.
During his time with Living Paintings, Len was always on our socials – with his cheeky smile and expert carving abilities, he became quite the star! He was the skilled craftsman behind hundreds of our master artwork carvings and the painter of so many of our tactile illustrations. Thousands of blind children have felt the impact of Len’s work and dedication, and will continue to do so for many years to come.
Len in action!
But Len was always the creative type. From a young age, he was good at technical drawing, painting and woodwork, and his career reflects that. From a tuner’s lad with an organ building firm, to a commercial model makers’, and even an in-house woodworking craftsman!
Outside of his work with Living Paintings, he was a true family man. He is survived by his beloved wife Maureen and his two daughters, Debi and Claire.
Julie King, one of our volunteers who worked alongside Len, said this of him: “I’d only known Len personally for a couple of years, but I knew of him a long time before I met him. He’s famous in Newbury – they even had his name on the town Christmas tree as a local volunteering hero! Working with him was a joy. He was so talented, meticulous in all he did, and just a lovely, lovely man. I’ve been given some of his work to finish off, which is quite an honour. I’ll certainly take my time with it.”
Claire Webb, Len’s daughter, said: “He was a very kind and gentle man and lived for his family. Dad never said no if someone asked him to help, and he made so many things for so many people. Honestly, looking at the fraction of it that we have recorded, we can’t fathom how he managed to find the time!
“Our house was always filled with laughter. Dad had a really wicked sense of humour and you learned to spot the cheeky sparkle in his eye when he was winding you up. He was still winding me up and sparkling right up to the end.”
Here’s what some of Len’s Living Paintings colleagues had to say about him…
“Len would pop in to do the carvings or the paintings and we were always able to have a good talk. He was a really friendly chap, a bit cheeky at times, too, but in the best way. When my son was pursuing carpentry, Len gave him a set of tools, and he always asked after him to see how he was doing. That was typically kind. For a while before his death, he also gave me some lessons on carving. He was very patient and so knowledgeable.”Nicola Dymond Production Assistant
“Len was the gentlest of men, with a cheeky sense of humour and some great stories to tell, especially about his evacuation from London, as a child, during the war.”Pippa Ashton Library Adminstrator
“I loved coming into the office to talk to Len. He was so incredibly talented and an amazingly warm person. He would always ask after my little girl and, as a father of two daughters, was always offering up words of advice and encouragement. Mostly, he told me to cherish these times when she is young and would reminisce about when his own daughters were young. He made Living Paintings so special.”Nick Ford Head of Communications
This week, from 23-30 June, we’re taking part in The Big Give, where any donations received will be matched by their partner, Global’s Make Some Noise. With encouragement from Len’s family, we would like to take the opportunity to raise vital funds in his memory that will be doubled.
Donations received in his memory, made via The Big Give, will go towards creating new Touch to See books to share his passion with the blind and visually impaired children he cared so much about.