John Soundy with his partner Larry

JOHN Soundy lived in the same 500 square yards of Kentish Town for the 80 years of his life – and those decades saw him become a well known and much loved face in the neighbourhood.

John, who worked selling fruit and veg at the Inverness Street market, was born in Malden Road in 1943. After he married his wife Larry in 1970, the couple settled round the corner in Prince of Wales Road.

Once their two sons had grown up, they moved once more – this time, it was a stone’s throw to Ferdinand Street. John was one of four children for Danny and Doll Soundy.

His father delivered fruit and vegetables, taking produce from Covent Garden to grocers and markets. His mother worked as a waitress in a canteen at the Daily Mirror.

John went to William Collins school in Somers Town and aged 16 began work at the market. It meant early rises, heading to Covent Garden to load up a van or collect a hand barrow, that would be walked through the West End up to Camden Town at 4.30am.

Early starts and a finish at tea time, it was off to the Buck’s Head pub in Camden Town with fellow market traders for a couple of pints before heading home.

John enjoyed the work and was part of a close community, his stall attracting loyal customers.

The family table would groan with healthy produce, with John bringing fruit and vegetables home, his family were assured of five a day.

His preference was for a roast dinner and a fried breakfast, though in later years he was persuaded to try Chinese style spare ribs and rice, which he enjoyed.

In 1967, at the Malden Pub in Malden Road, John met Larry. She was a receptionist for a firm in Kilburn. The pair fell for each other – though Larry recalls a first date that did not go quite to plan.

“John took me to a big party in a house,” she recalled “I had this lovely fur coat I was paying off monthly. It got pinched at the party. I wasn’t exactly happy, but it made a memorable our first date.”

The couple married in 1970 and stayed happily together ever since, raising two boys, Lawrence and Jamie.

In 1975, he was offered a job as a driver for CBS Records, based in west London. Good wages and job security meant he left his friends at Inverness Street. John’s final job before retiring was as a caretaker for a hall in Ferdinand Street, where the family were living.

An Arsenal fan, he had in the past had a season ticket at Highbury: he also loved horse racing, his favourite jockey being Frankie Dettori. When Dettori famously rode seven winners in one day, John had backed him – and walked away with a fairly handsome prize.

He and Larry would go to meetings across the country, and travelled to Paris to watch the famous Arc De Triomphe race.

He was a welcome face in various pubs – the now-closed Crowndale, where he and Larry courted, the Fiddlers Elbow and Sir Robert Peel were other favoured haunts where he was held in high esteem.

A devoted grandfather to Livy and Emily, he had a period of ill health and in recent months had spent time at the Royal Free Hospital.

His wife Larry said: “The doctors and nurses at the Free are so kind, patient, brilliant at their job. John’s family are incredibly grateful to the NHS.”

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