BLAENAVON Town Councillor Robert Gulliford MBE died peacefully at his home on July 11 aged 75.

His funeral was held at St Peter's Church in Blaenavon on July 21 and was packed full of friends and family of the much-loved local man.

Cllr Gulliford was a very prominent and respected member of the community.

Janet Jones, a town councillor for Blaenavon said: "I had known Cllr Gulliford for many years. He was a very quiet gentleman and a fountain of all knowledge."

Glyn Probert of Blaenavon World Heritage Centre added: "He was a very knowledgeable person. He knew so much about Blaenavon.

"He opened the museum and the love of his life was learning about buildings.

"He was a very nice man all round, I miss him terribly.

"The church was full for his funeral. He certainly had a good send off."

Before he retired Cllr Gulliford was a telecommunications engineer for BT.

In the 1950s he was a member of the Royal Corps of Signals and served in Egypt, Libya and Cyprus.

He later served in the Territorial Army and the Emergency Reserve until he retired from military service in the mid 1960s.

Until his death, Cllr Gulliford was an active member of the Blaenavon Branch of the Royal British Legion and held a number of positions within the organisation including treasurer and chairman.

He also served as treasurer for the Blaenavon Workmen's Hall Committee.

He was a strong advocate for tourism both in Blaenavon and in the wider Torfaen area and was a participant within the Torfaen Tourism Association.

In 2005 he was awarded his MBE for services to the Royal British Legion and the community of Blaenavon.

He was husband to the late Pat Gulliford and loving father of Robert Parker Gulliford.