TRUE Wellingtonian Ray Hitchcock, of Wellesley Park, died on February 13 at the age of 87.

He married Cherry Hill in 1957, enjoyed 63 years of happy marriage and was very proud of their card from the Queen. He had two daughters, Anne and Jane; five grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

He was a founder member of Wellington Twinning Association and made more than 30 trips to Lillebonne, France; Immenstadt, Germany; and Torres Vedras in Portugal. He was part of the initial twinning expedition to Immenstadt in 1982. There were many other visits to Germany and France with Cherry and the family.

Ray worked for Somerset County Council as its principal administrative officer. He was based at Hestercombe House, near Taunton, headquarters of the County Fire Brigade, for 28 years. In addition to his day job he helped interpret the garden plans of Hestercombe and worked to get the original planting restored. The fabulous view from his office window was over the now restored Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens gardens. Before this he was an administration officer for Somerset Education Office in Taunton.

Ray was born in Wellington and educated at Corams Lane school before winning a scholarship to Wellington School. He then went on to further study, completing his administrative exams.

Ray lived all his life in Wellington except for two years when he was newly married and lived in nearby Bridgwater.

He completed his National Service with the RAF, having served at Rudloe Manor and Box Hill, near Bath, which he mostly enjoyed, particularly pushing around his ‘little tin arrows’!

He was involved in a number of other local organisations including the Conservative Club, Probus, Abbeyfield Committee and Wellington Museum, where he volunteered. He was also a great supporter of Wellington in Bloom and the Wellington Basins Volunteer Group.

Ray took great pleasure in his photography and took many pictures to record a variety of local activities. He was a keen local historian and diligently researched both family histories going back six generations. He also worked with Mike Perry to identify the missing names from Wellington War Memorial in the park as a lasting contribution to the town.

Ray was a man of impeccable manners who always said ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, and his high standards, even on a camping trip in his younger days, included insisting on having side plates at the table. Those who knew him referred to him as a ‘true gentleman’ and a polite man with a wry sense of humour.