A much-loved Marlovian died this week after a long battle with cancer.

Bertram ‘Bert’ Child has been described as a “true gentleman” by those who knew him, and was a familiar figure in the town’s High Street.

Mr Child, who lived off Oak Tree Road, was diagnosed with neck cancer more than 30 years ago and lost his ability to speak, eat and drink as the cancer grew and took hold.

But despite this, close friend Steve Carlton told the Marlow the 88-year-old managed to make people laugh and “smiled with his eyes”.

He said: “He could eat or drink and had to sit there with a drip feeding him and had to write everything he wanted to say down but he managed to smile with his eyes even though he couldn’t move his mouth.

“He used to grow fruits and vegetables for people in his allotment – my wife once mentioned she liked rhubarb and he grew it for her.

“He will be sorely missed by everyone in Marlow. He was a figure that everyone knew. He was always on the High Street in his car.

“He was a true gentleman and everyone loved him.”

Mr Child’s daughter Jan Reilly also paid tribute to her father, saying he “definitely wasn’t ordinary”.

She said: “He went through so many health issues in his life. He was such a fighter. It was so inspiring.

“My brother [Steve] and I have been in and out of hospital over the past 20 years. He kept bouncing back.

“He loved his family so much. He lived alone and coped with everything by himself. He always seemed to make friends with people even though he couldn’t communicate using speech.

“Everyone who met him thought he was a wonderful man.”

Mrs Reilly said she and Steve were worried about Bert when their mother died six months after she was also diagnosed with cancer, saying they did not know how he would cope.

She said: “Mum spent a lot of her time looking after him. She was his life, she was everything to him.”

She said Bert had made many friends in the town who still keep in touch with the family, adding: “His next door neighbour Richard was wonderful – he would always check on him to make sure he was ok.

“He really did touch a lot of people. He was a very big character. You knew he was there even though he couldn’t speak.

“He will be missed so much.”