MEMORIES of one of Malmesbury’s most loved characters were shared in an emotional evening at the town hall last night.

Bob Browning, who co-hosted the nostalgia evening at the Malmesbury Carnival every year, died in May.

His talks about the history of the north Wiltshire town and about the carnival that he so loved were a highlight of the annual event and he even had a book published in 2014 called Malmesbury Carnival History and Recollections.

The nostalgia evening, which consistently sold-out each year, took the form of a tribute evening to Bob on Wednesday.

Videos of his past talks at the carnival were played as well as snippets of film that he was in, talking about the town’s history.

At the start of the second half of the evening, an open microphone session was held where people could share their stories about Bob.

The evening was put together by a team of people who knew Bob well, including Graham Cook, who hosted the nostalgia evening with him each year.

“We used to collect lots of memorabilia about Malmesbury, taking old video stock and slides and digitising them,” said Graham, who made up Bustard Productions with Bob.

“I would do first half of the evening then Bob would do second half, with his famous slideshows and powerpoints.

“He delivered them in his wonderful lilting West Country accent and they were brilliantly observational and extreme quirky.

“He had a delicacy of delivery and a lightness of touch with a tinge of naughtiness that made him a natural in front of an audience.

“He would have the entire town hall in the palm of his hand.”

Graham had dug into the archives for clips of Bob and begun the evening with a short film he titled ‘The Best of Bob’.

The film featured clips of the Malmesbury icon taking part in the carnival procession every year in his wacky outfits.

A sample of a film Bob made with his friend Fred Goudie about Malmesbury was also shown.

The piece was inspired by a John Betjeman programme about how the market town was one of his favourite places in the West Country. The film was thought to have been lost however Graham stumbled across the recording in an old box of videos.

Graham used the commentary by Betjeman and matched it with the up to date clips of Bob 50 years on, to create a unique experience for the audience.

Other clips were shown, including television interviews with Bob and a short film he made about his love of using drift wood for art.

Graham said the evening would be a “celebration” of Bob’s life.

“We tried to keep it quite light, as all of his work was tinged with this mischievous humour,” he said.

Speaking at the end of the evening Graham said: “Bob was a one-off. Malmesbury nostalgia will never be the same again.

“Hopefully we’ve been able to show and share some of his skills tonight through his words and images.”

Deborah Clogg, chairwoman of the Malmesbury Carnival committee, said Bob’s history talks were a “very important and enjoyable part of carnival”.

“He was a very familiar face to people in the town,” she said.

“As a dedicated Oxfam shop volunteer, helping others was an important part of his character. He’ll be sadly missed.”

In response to Bob’s death a family have donated a trophy for the wackiest entry in the carnival procession, which will be given in his name each year.

There are now plans to put the films, dubbed The Bob Browning Collection, onto a hard drive and make them accessible for anyone to view and enjoy.

Anyone with old photos, videos or memorabilia is encouraged to drop them into the town hall of the Malmesbury Pottery for the attention of Graham.

For more information about the carnival and its full program of events, visit malmesburycarnival.co.uk