EDWIN John Wakefield who was twice Mayor of Malmesbury, and presided over the town’s 1,100th anniversary celebrations, died on November 5 at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon at the age of 89.

The first of seven children Mr Wakefield was born on December 30, 1924, and grew up in Great Somerford.

He helped his father, William, who was head gardener at Dauntsey Park and quickly got to grips with the idiosyncratic mechanisms of the generator which provided electricity for the main house.

Impressed, his father arranged for him to be taken on as an apprentice electrician with Bulson Bros of Chippenham which led to him working on the construction of the Army Barracks at Devizes.

Mr Wakefield’s life changed when he realised that someone kept stealing his tools - it turned out to be a ruse by an Army “land girl” from Lancashire who was working in Wiltshire and was keen to engineer a meeting with the athletic looking electrician.

Edwin and Joan Wakefield were married in Warrington in April, 1947, and after a brief spell in Lancashire moved back to Great Somerford and then lived in Chippenham.

They set up an electrical goods shop in Bristol Street, Malmesbury, before moving to larger premises in High Street followed by another re-location across the road.

In the late Sixties the couple – who by this time had three children – branched into the china, glass and kitchenware business, opening Pot-au-feu.

In 1971 Mr Wakefield was elected mayor of Malmesbury with Joan as mayoress.

Nine years later in 1980 he was again asked to become mayor during a special year for the town which celebrated the 1,100th anniversary of its charter.

Mr Wakefield accompanied Princess Anne around the town during her official visit when she opened the gardens at the rear of Malmesbury Abbey.

The couple decided to throw the switch on their electrical shop to focus just on Pot-au-feu, opening outlets in Tetbury and Marlborough.

After retirement they became well known in Malmesbury for their garden and won a string of Best Garden Prizes over the years.

Mrs Wakefield died after 62 years marriage in 2009. They have three sons: Bernard, David and Jonathan.