The funeral of Harry Thursby, former Sunderland furniture and carpet retailer is due to take place on Tuesday. He died on 4 July, aged 94. An upholsterer, Thursby set up on his own re-upholstering suites in 1947 after being unable to return to his pre-war job, initially using his mother’s front room.

For several years he travelled the country re-upholstering cinema seats. ‘He worked for J Arthur Rank – they used to work through the night and then sleep during the day in the cinema itself,’ says his son Eric. ‘He did that for many years until he got sick of travelling. Fittingly, the last cinema he did was the Gaumont in Fawcett Street, Sunderland.’

He then opened a store on Rutland Street selling and repairing household goods, which later become the carpet store. In 1972 he took over a second store as his furniture outlet. He retired when he was 62, handing the business to Eric and brother Philip, who later relocated the furniture to its Holmeside location.

They sold the business to Michael O’Connor when Eric retired in 2006, with the Thursby name remaining with Philip running the carpet business.

‘The amount of people that have come up us, since his death, just wanting to say what a gentleman he was,’ says Eric. The funeral service will be held at St John’s Church in Ashbrooke at 12.15pm. Donations in lieu of flowers to Cancer Research North East.

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