Cottingham will shine on in memory of its ‘Mr Christmas Lights’
TRIBUTE: Lal Kirby
By Phil Ascough
A man who devoted most of his life to illuminating his home village with the magic of Christmas will be honoured with a display in his memory after his death at the age of 87.
George Harold Kirby, who was known as Harold, and then Lal, was a stalwart of the lights committee at Cottingham.
Lal’s wife Margaret had a hair salon in the village and they joined other local traders who, over a pint in 1981, decided to each chip in £250 to decorate the village for the festive season.
Lal worked on admin and organisation, he climbed up and down ladders and went even higher in cherry picker cradles to hang lights from shops, offices and pubs. He became the longest-serving chairman and, with his mobility reduced in 2024 after being hit by a car on a pedestrian crossing, continued his involvement as a ready source of advice and inspiration.
As the lights go up this month in readiness for a 45th switch-on in November, all eyes will be on the Duke of Cumberland. The pub at the hub of the celebration will display Lal’s light – the details of which are a closely guarded secret.
Natalie Clarke, licensee of the Duke, said: “All I know is it’s a special display, it’s big, and it’s a lasting tribute to Lal. I have no idea what it looks like and I won’t find out until they switch it on.
“All I’ve said is I want it to be visible from the moon, but I’m being kept in the dark for now.”
Natalie was five when she moved to the Duke with her parents, Maggie and Pete, in the year that Cottingham Lights were launched. The family stayed until 1986 and then moved to Spain.
Natalie lost Maggie in 1994 and Pete in 2016. She took on the Duke in her own right in 2021, having previously worked round the corner at the King Billy, where she first supported the Cottingham Lights crew and chairman Lal.
“I was at the King Billy in 2018 when I realised that nobody was feeding the lads when they were putting up the lights on a Sunday morning,” Natalie recalled.
ILLUMINATIONS: The Cottingham Christmas Lights, bringing festive sparkle to the village for 45 years. Picture by Paul Lakin
“We started doing hot drinks and bacon and sausage sandwiches. Lal was the chairman and was the first to turn up. Even in his 80s he used to join them every Sunday morning. I told him off one day for carrying a ladder because there were young lads to do that, but it was very much his thing. He did as much as he could for as long as he could.”
Lal’s daughters, Joanne Thompson and Louise Kirby, used to drive through the centre of Cottingham on a Sunday morning, patrolling the streets to make sure their dad wasn’t doing any physical work. They’re planning to buy a family light this year.
Jo said: “We want to hang it in Hallgate so it will be the first thing people see when they arrive in the village from that end.”
Lou explained that Harold was the only son to his parents, but they each had other children from previous relationships. Lal’s youngest step brother couldn’t pronounce Harold and used to say Larold, then Lal. It stuck.
Lal, who died on Thursday, August 13, lived alone in Devon Street Cottingham, but remained friends with Margaret after their divorce in 1993.
He had a clerical job with a bakery and then spent about 20 years in sales for the Needler’s confectionery firm. He retired through ill health when he was 60 and then worked for a friend at Sandridge Blinds, making deliveries in East and North Yorkshire. It was supposed to be temporary but he did it until he was 77. Also, in his mid-70s he stopped going to watch Hull City, the team he had supported all his life.
But Lal kept working on the lights. Lou said: “They provided lights and advice to other towns and villages in the area. Anybody who had any questions came to dad. He helped to choose the lights including the new one this year.”
Renowned for his organisational prowess, Lal diligently wrote down details of his life and the lights to assist Jo and Lou in planning his funeral. The celebrant was Steve Massam, former BBC radio presenter and perennial host of the Cottingham Lights switch-on.
Lal also requested that a loving home be found for Henry, his 14-year-old labrador, who became as well-known as Lal on their walks round Cottingham.
In 2010, Lal was succeeded as chair of Cottingham Lights by Charles Rawlings who, with his brother Michael, owns John Ford Menswear, a family business dating back to 1967,
DEDICATION: The volunteers hard at work putting up a Christmas tree at the Duke of Cumberland and other decorations in Hallgate
Charles said: “The original traders started fundraising and for the first couple of years they borrowed and hired lights from Blackpool. We still have some of the original ones.
“The lights are massively important because they attract so many people into the village. Some of the crowd estimates for the switch-on night were as high as 20,000. Even without that we still get a steady flow of people coming into the village from the end of November until the beginning of January.”
The annual public celebration was replaced with a low-key switch-on in 2013 because of the soaring costs of safety and security. Fundraising is year-round to enable the volunteers to buy new lights, maintain existing stock and hire equipment for the installation.
Charles said: “Our latest campaign is to upgrade some of the equipment. We get money every year from Cottingham Parish Council and donations from some of the shops and other businesses as well as residents. The Duke has raised a lot of money over the years.
“We’re extremely grateful for every donation and businesses also help in other ways – some of them are working on a new idea of donating by activating a QR code which will be displayed in shop windows.”
Lal was well known for his efforts visiting businesses to drum up support. Mourners at his funeral on Thursday, September 10 were invited to make donations to Cottingham Lights.
At the Duke, the Christmas tree came out early for a celebration of Lal’s life. It will stay in place until January, the hope being that people will be inspired to contribute in memory of loved ones who made Cottingham Lights nights so special.
Natalie said: “We raise money for the lights throughout the year with collection boxes in the pub, a Santa’s grotto in the yard, a market for Cottingham food festival.
“I love the lights for the joy they bring to the kids when they come here. Tinsel city and a real wow factor! As a child I lived in this pub for the first five years of Cottingham Lights. I’ll always remember the buzz in the village, something my grandparents could come and enjoy with us, and I’ll always think of Lal as Mr Christmas Lights!”