A Midlands house builder has named one of its new developments after a close friend and trusted contractor who died earlier this year.
The late Jack Connolly and his brother Gerry first met Karl and Tom Lockley as pupils at Bromsgrove School.
Jack’s company RAW Civils and Environmental later became the sole groundworks contractor for Lockley Homes, owned by Karl and Tom.
Jack sadly died in a road accident while skiing with his family in France in January.
Lockley Homes has now named a six-unit apartment block on its Kingsbrooke development in the village of Colwall, near the Malvern Hills, as Connolly House in memory of Jack.
Jack’s family plan to visit the site to put a brass plaque on the wall at a private viewing in January to mark the anniversary of his death.
A memorial bench engraved with “Jack Connolly, 1987-2019” has also been placed at Lockley Homes’ Colwall Gardens site, and Jack’s mother has recently visited to plant some flowers around it.
Karl Lockley, joint managing director of Lockley Homes, based in Warwickshire, said: “I was good friends with Jack’s brother Gerry at school and Tom and Jack became very close in recent years because of their shared love of diggers and big boys’ toys...!"
“At the same time, Jack’s company RAW Civils was responsible for all Lockley Homes’ drainage, roads, infrastructure, sub-structures and all other elements of our groundworks."
“As a result, both Tom and I were close to Jack and Gerry and we were devastated at the news of his untimely death."
“We wanted to do something special in his memory and were so pleased that the family agreed to the commemorative bench and the naming of the building which Jack had worked on.”
Since Jack’s death, his family have stepped in to ensure that RAW Civils continues running, with his father Paul now overseeing the company.
This has seen RAW Civils finish off the infrastructure at Lockley Home’s current Kingsbrooke site and start deep drainage works at its new Marmalade Lane site in Honeybourne, Worcestershire.
Gerry Connolly, Jack’s brother, said: “Our family has been deeply touched by these lovely gestures from Jack’s friends and business partners Karl and Tom Lockley."
“We’re obviously still grieving over his death but it’s lovely that people who also cared for him have made such an effort to remember his name in this way.”