TRIBUTES have been paid to long-serving councillor and former Colchester mayor David Holt.

Mr Holt, who was 91, was Colchester mayor between 1978 and 1979, as well as being a long-serving Conservative councillor for the ward of Lexden from 1967 to 1986.

He was born in Romford in 1929 and spent much of his early years in Colchester when his parents moved to the town in the 1930s.

He was the second of three children, with an older brother, Michael Holt, and a younger sister, Mary Booth.

Mr Holt was educated at Holmwood House Preparatory School in Colchester, before going on to finish his junior studies at Epsom College in Surrey.

National Service was still compulsory in 1950s Britain, and soon after leaving Epsom College, Mr Holt joined the Royal Artillery HQ 50th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment.

His two-year stint ended in Troon before he returned south of the border to begin working in the finance sector.

It was in Colchester where Mr Holt became heavily involved in local politics whilst he worked for the company Commercial Union.

He became a councillor for the Lexden ward in 1967, by which point he had started a family with his wife, Marie Buck, whom he married in 1955.

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Mr Holt went on to serve the residents of Lexden for more than two decades in a number of demanding roles.

He sat on the finance committee, as well as the borough council for road, traffic, transport, highways and estates, before eventually becoming the leader of the council in 1973.

He served a four year stint as council leader until 1977 and became deputy mayor later that year.

He succeeded L C Woodrow as mayor in 1978 and became the 5th mayor of the enlarged borough of Colchester.

The legacy of Mr Holt’s mayoralty was floodlighting Colchester Castle allowing visitors to see it night and day.

This he celebrated by hosting a candle-lit supper as thanks to the fundraisers and volunteers who helped to complete the project.

Once Mr Holt’s mayoral term came to a close in 1979, he continued to serve on Colchester Council until 1986 as well as being president of Lexden Conservative Association.

But even once Mr Holt had stepped away from the rigours of local government, he still had a heavy involvement with his adopted hometown.

He served as a governor of Monkwick and Philip Morant schools and as chairman of North East Essex Mental Health Trust from 1991 to1997.

Mr Holt, who was eventually made an honorary Alderman – a title conferred on those who have given outstanding service to a local council – died of natural causes earlier this month.

He is survived by his wife, Marie, two daughters Jenny and Sarah, as well as four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Jenny Tanner, one of his daughters, says she will always remember her father as a generous, family man who loved indulging in cricket, cruises, and croquet in his spare time, as well as pottering in his vegetable patch.

“I used to love gardening with him,” she said, “Because I could weed in companionable silence with him.

“His role was to be head of the family, head of the family unit.

“His generosity was with helping other people but he never made a fuss about it.

“Being mayor of Colchester was a real honour for him because he had a great sense of community and giving something back.”