A ROYAL British Legion stalwart has died at the age of 84.

Gordon Stevens was part of the Royal British Legion (RBL) for more than 50 years, getting involved with all aspects of the Bracknell branch. He was its only ‘life member’.

He died on Wednesday, May 28, after getting a chest infection following complications during his treatment for throat cancer.

Family, friends and Legion members attended his funeral yesterday (Tuesday) at Easthampstead Park Crematorium.

Mr Stevens spent 55 years with the Bracknell branch of the RBL and served a period of time as the branch’s president and took charge of its social events as chairman.

He was also heavily involved in the Poppy Appeal as well as many other fundraising events. He also took charge of organising several social events and keeping the club’s finances in good shape.

Janet Chapman, the branch’s membership secretary, said: “He will be sorely missed by everyone at the Legion. We were all tremendously upset when we learnt he had passed away.

“He was a lovely man and all those memories we have of him will stay with us forever. He was extremely generous and sweet, too. There will be a big hole in the branch and everyone will miss him a lot.” After growing up in Paddington he enrolled himself on to an engineering apprenticeship, where he specialised in fixing milling machines in the west London.

He then got a job at Sperry – now known as British Aerospace – fixing machines in factories across London, which is where he met his wife Irene in 1960. They moved to Bracknell the following year, where Mr Stevens worked for Sperry’s Bracknell base.

He left the company in the mid-1980s and worked as a courier for the Bracknell News. He retired in the mid 1990s.

Mr and Mrs Stevens lived in Priestwood and Bullbrook before moving to sheltered accommodation in Bracknell town centre.

Mr Stevens is survived by Irene and their sons Tony and Paul.