In-demand palm reader who rubbed shoulders with celebrities will be remembered for helping people

Terry Pagiel the palmist died recently aged 82 after a brave battle with cancer – leaving his family ‘devastated’.

Terry, who served in the Royal Navy during the 1950s as a communications officer, read the palms of numerous famous people.

These included Syd Little and Eddie Large, the comedians known as ‘Little and Large’, former Eastenders star Mike Reid, and comedian Tom O’Connor, amongst others.

He was a well-known face along the south coast, practising his palmistry craft in Cascades and Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, Bognor Regis, Chichester and Bournemouth. He also lived in Hastings, the Isle of Wight and Selsey.

It was at the Manchester Hotel in Bournemouth where he was invited to join the illustrious British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation The Grand Order of Water Rats – where he would mingle with many of the biggest names of the day.

Working internationally in the 1970s and ‘80s where he performed on cruise liners Black Watch and Blenheim, Terry was a regular on the showbiz and celebrity circuit.

During the 1990s and into the new millennium, Terry was also a regular palm reader at Cascades and Gunwharf, as well as at the shopping centre in Havant .

Terry’s daughter Gail Eggins said: ‘He was a familiar face in all communities and was very much a lead figure in light entertainment and local tourism. He was much in demand.

‘Although he mixed with celebrities and had an interesting life he was very humble and did not brag. There was a lot he kept very confidential.

‘A lot of people said he really helped them with his palmistry.

‘He loved Portsmouth with all its history.’

As well as being a palm reader, Terry was a clairvoyant who read tarot cards during a career spanning over 65 years.

But, known as a ‘Jack of all trades’, was also a sign writer and had a great passion for painting and boats.

At one point he lived on a houseboat in Chichester Canal that drew widespread publicity with it having been there for over 100 years. ‘He loved the quirky boat and was always keen to paint it,’ Gail said.

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As he came towards retirement, Terry moved back to Chichester and then Bognor where he pitched up at car boots to do his palm readings.

‘He did palm reading because he really enjoyed it,’ Gail said.

Terry married his wife Angela in 1977, whom he was devoted to, and is survived by her, his daughter and son, and two grandchildren.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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