A highly regarded teacher who was popular among past and present pupils at Keswick School has died after a long and courageous battle with cancer.
Neil Hadfield, 61, joined the school in 1993 as head of English.
He became assistant headteacher and was head of sixth form when he retired in 2017.
A keen sportsman and avid Middlesbrough FC fan, Mr Hadfield took charge of the school’s football team.
Born and educated in Middlesbrough, he studied English at Newcastle University before completing his education at Liverpool University.
He moved to Egremont in 1982 to start teaching at Wyndham School, now West Lakes Academy.
It was there he met his wife Joanna and the couple had two children, Catherine, 28, and James, 27. At Wyndham School, he was head of IT, switching to English when he moved to Keswick.
Mr Hadfield, who lived at Cockermouth, was diagnosed with cancer in December 2018. That year he had cycled the length of the River Weser in Germany.
Mr Hadfield was a lover of music and quizzes and was president of Cockermouth Golf Club when he died. He was also a keen birdwatcher and member of the RSPB.
Mrs Hadfield said: “He has tried his best over the past two-and-a-half to be very positive. He always tried to make a joke of things. He had a Shakespearian quotation for every occasion”.
His funeral was at Christ Church, Cockermouth, on Monday April 12, with burial at the town’s cemetery.
