It is with great sadness I am sharing the passing of Paul Bowater. Paul was ill and took a sudden turn for the worse just before Christmas. He was a retired high-flying accountant working with one of the largest accountancy firms, his work took him all over the world.

Paul had retired but wanted to give something back and took on the role of Finance Officer at BVSC primarily working with small Voluntary, Community Social Enterprise and Faith organisations to provide support on all things related to finances.

He also supported a number of organisations with advice and guidance through the pandemic. His knowledge was vast and the voluntary sector has truly lost an invaluable resource.

The following comments have been made by some of the organisations that Paul worked with, on learning of his passing: 

"We are extremely sorry to hear the news that Paul has passed away.  We always valued & appreciated dealing with him - a true gentleman - for sure a massive loss to you, your clients & his family."

"I have only worked with him for the past two years but he was lovely and always very helpful."

"He was such a lovely man helped us do our returns and helped me lot to prepare them and guided me. He will be missed, our thoughts are with you and his family."

"Paul was a fantastic colleague and so very reliable."

"Paul was such a lovely man and was such a great help, he not only carried out our audits but was always on hand if there was a quick question around setting up our new accounting system, I always knew he would try to help with a quick call and a chat.  He will be sadly missed."

Paul loved his work, which is what made him so good at what he did. Even when ill he said he needed to carry on working and continued right up until a couple of weeks before he was admitted to hospital. He said as long as he could access his computer he wanted to continue working, wanted to use his brain and keep occupied.

He will be missed by BVSC’s colleagues, in particular the finance department and the many organisations that he supported. As his line manager it’s been a privilege to work with him, he was my wildcard in the interview process I was fascinated as to why someone with his skills set wanted to take this role – he simply said I want to give something back.

Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and we wish them well and hope they are able to find some peace and closure.

Jasbir Rai
Deputy CEO, BVSC