ADMIRERS of billionaire philanthropist Sir John Paul Getty II have been reflecting on his legacy after he died aged 70 last Thursday.

As the final chapter closed on a life filled with enough drama to make a best-seller, national headlines were dominated with the news.

But that was no surprise. Sir Paul was, after all, born into the onetime richest American oil dynasty in the world.

From birth his every move was news.

But little could have hinted at the drama and tragedy that lay ahead.

Indeed feature and biography writers had their work cut out last week as they trawled through archives and reams of material needed to piece together the story of his life.

But for the people of Buckinghamshire, where he lived for the last decade of his life, the search for evidence of Sir Paul's character was not to be found in libraries or newspaper archives.

Here in Bucks we just have to look to the skies.

Swooping and soaring overhead are Sir Paul's personal gifts to the Chilterns, and to this country the majestic red kite.

The story of how the kite once again fills our skies reveals the depths of a man whose philanthropic deeds were often overshadowed by the wild, heady days of his youth.

MP David Lidington said: "I will remember him for his generosity to local as well as national good causes and especially for his stewardship of the countryside around Stokenchurch and Ibstone."

He added: "When I see a kite soaring overhead I will remember Sir Paul and his love of our countryside."

Sir Paul's flamboyant lifestyle and the tragedies that blighted his younger years fuelled many a splash in the national newspapers.

But since his drug rehabilitation in the 80s, he tirelessly devoted his attention and a portion of his fortune to Britain's wildlife, countryside, culture and the arts.

He never forgot local charities the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and the local arm of English Nature were among those he supported.

Graham Steven, English Nature conservation officer, said: "He really was instrumental in introducing the red kites and was very supportive of our work. He was a real forward thinker when it came to conservation issues."

Sir Paul teamed up with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and English Nature to undertake the mammoth task of re-introducing the red kites onto his Wormsley Estate at Ibstone in 1984.

Mike Hudar, landlord of The Fox pub on Ibstone Road, a few hundred yards from Sir Paul's sprawling estate, said: "He was a lovely friendly man that really loved his wildlife. I never heard a bad thing said about him."

On fine days The Fox's car park is full as walkers and bird-lovers alike descend to enjoy the rich Chilterns landscape.

Mr Hudar added: "Between about 4.30pm and 6.30pm in the evening there are so many red kites they fill the sky like a cloud about 20ft off the ground. It's a marvellous sight."

Walkers Terry and Sandra Mead, who live in Essex, were walking near the late Sir Paul's Wormsley Estate on Saturday.

Mrs Mead, 41, said: "It's lovely that he went to the trouble of having them introduced here again after all of these years. We saw one this morning. They are lovely."

Sir Paul's friend from the 60s, Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger, introduced him to the very English sport of cricket in the 70s. The American lost his heart to the game and even built an replica of the Oval cricket ground on his Wormsley estate.

The pair played cricket there a far cry from their hedonistic tendencies in the 60s, as part of a party-loving crowd which Sir Paul fell in with following his divorce from first wife American Gail Harris.

But the heady days ended in tragedy with the death of his beautiful model wife Talitha Pol following a heroin overdose in 1971.

In 1973 the family hit the headlines once again after Sir Paul's estranged 17-year-old son John Paul III was kidnapped by Italian terrorists.

The gang demanded a £1.2 million ransom before slicing the boy's ear off.

Sir Paul began his long road to rehabilitation after moving to England.

He said goodbye to his wild ways after a calling to Roman Catholicism which brought with it a new lifestyle.

Instead of drug-fuelled binges his money was put towards charities.

It is estimated he gave away some £140m in ten years from 1984 much of it in support of the arts.

A £50 million project at the National Gallery and a part refurbishment of St Paul's Cathedral were funded by his donations.

His generosity won him many admirers and an honorary knighthood for services to charity in 1986.

Sir Paul became a British citizen in 1997 when he reportedly said: "Receiving my British passport was one of the happiest moments of my life."

He moved to the Wormsley Estate with his third wife Victoria Holdsworth in the 80s.

He is survived by his third wife, two sons and two daughters from his first marriage, and a son from his second marriage.