A service celebrating the life of veteran Academy news reader Bill Pitt will be held this month

A service will be held to celebrate the life of Bill Pitt

A funeral service for veteran Academy FM Thanet newsreader Bill Pitt will be held on December 15.

Bill passed away on November 17, aged 80, in Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital after a short illness.

Bill was born in Brixton Hill, south London. After National Service in the Royal Army Service Corps, he worked in lighting design, management training and local government. Living in Croydon for much of his life, he served as Liberal MP for Croydon North West in the early 1980s.

Bill moved to Broadstairs in 1988 with Janet, who is an artist and a retired teacher.

In recent years, Bill has sung in local choirs and been chairman of Broadstairs Music Recital Society. The society presented its final concert in March, but Bill and Janet continued to organise classical events at York Street Methodist Church in Broadstairs.

He had been a senior member of the Academy FM Thanet news team since joining the station in 2013.

Service details

A short service will take place at Thanet Crematorium at 1.45pm. It will be followed by a service of thanksgiving and celebration of Bill’s life at 3pm, held at Broadstairs Methodist Church in York Street.

Family request no black and no flowers. Instead donations in Bill’s memory can be made to

Action for Children (Local)  or Broadstairs Methodist Church (Organ Repair Fund)

Send donation cheques to Gore Brothers Ltd. Funeral Directors,  51 High Street, Broadstairs, CT10 1JL,  with your chosen cause written on the back.