In Memoriam Mark Talbot
Mark Talbot, 1962 – 2024
Tablet
Groups: Wychwood Warriors, Aescesdun, Hwicce, Amounderness
Mark was known universally as Tablet, and was a member of The Vikings from 1991 to his death from cancer in December 2024. and was a teacher and mentor to many in that time. He served the society as Archery officer, Health & Safety officer, Publicity officer and as a member of the High Council.
His name in re-enactment was Hedda of Mercia. Sometimes this was rendered as Hedde, and spelling not being standardised in Anglo-Saxon England, both forms are valid.
Tabs was initially drawn to re-enactment via a friend at Oxford University, and having discovered the Wychwood Warriors (a University society founded in the 80s), he became involved despite not being a student at the university. The members of Wychwood sometimes attended external events, and it was as a result of the Maldon Millennium in 1991 that he and most other members of Wychwood joined The Vikings.
A new group was formed, called Aescesdun, and initially led by Mark Browne with a supporting Witan. When this group came to a natural end, the remaining members founded Hwicce.
Despite starting with Wychwood as a combatant, Tablet's main interest was in archery. He became a skilled archer, and was quickly recognised as someone who could teach as well as do and as a result he was appointed as a training officer. In time, he led the Missiles department and was responsible for much of the development of our archery assessments and our displays.
Tablet was also unable to resist getting involved in other areas - he created a publicity stall for events, spent much of events talking to the public about what we do, and worked to provide branded merchandise for society members. He was a member of the High Council from 2011 under the leadership of Tony Sayer and then Roger Barry, standing down in 2019.
At the height of his abilities, Tablet was diagnosed with kidney disease and underwent regular dialysis for many years, much to the surprise of some of his friends who remained unaware of his personal challenges. Eventually he was told that a transplant would be necessary, and when a matching donor was found he underwent surgery at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge which was deemed a great success. His recovery was necessarily slow, but he returned to full strength and drank an annual toast to his donor for the greatest gift he'd ever been given.
Outside of The Vikings, Tablet was a keen fan of Formula 1 and travelled to races in many locations. He was particularly drawn to Asia, and spent time in Japan. He was part of a fan club for the Japanese driver Takuma Sato, where he was known as Tab-san to many and became an authority on the subject, meeting the driver on several occasions.
Tablet was interested in history in general, and also found an outlet for his joy of dressing up when he started to participate in WW2 re-enactment displays, in Army or RAF uniform. He made a very good senior officer, too old for the front line but most definitely a fine upstanding character with many years of experience.
When Tablet was told that his general ill health was not due to a chest infection but instead was a result of stage 4 cancer which was inoperable, he responded by making arrangements for his cat to be taken care of, and then set about planning for his legacy. He directed that his re-enactment kit should remain within the hobby, and be used to assist new members of student age to get started, just as he'd been helped by others so many years before. This led to the establishment of Hedda's Head Start, a fund providing assistance to new members of student age to encourage them to get involved in re-enactment and to remain as long-term members.