THE man behind Hanley's annual Remembrance Day parade has died.

Bert Henshall, of Brocksford Street, Fenton, passed away on Friday, January 9, after losing a fight with the lung condition pulmonary fibrosis.

Paying tribute to the 84-year-old, his friends and family said many would remember him for his work with the Stoke-on-Trent branch of the Royal Marines' Association.

Mr Henshall took up the role of secretary of the association when it was set up in 1946 and kept the post until he died.

Association chairman Frank Colclough, aged 65, from Boothen, said: "Bert virtually ran the Remembrance Day parade in Hanley by himself. At one point they said they were going to close it down, but Bert said, 'No way'.

"It was Bert's passion to keep it going and it would almost certainly have stopped by now if it weren't for him. Bert put everything into it and we always have a good turnout, including children and passers-by.

"People thought Bert was fantastic, and so do I."

Mr Henshall, who was born in Hanley, organised the parades for at least 15 years.

He spent three years in the Marines, joining in 1943 and training as a bulldozer driver in Devon.

However, boils on his back meant he missed part of his training and had to stay behind when those he joined up with went to the frontline.

Most of them died during the D-Day landings.

When he left the Marines, he went back into engineering and finished his working life as a supervisor for British Gas.

Mr Henshall joined the Scout movement in 1962 and ended up as the leader for the 8th Stoke-on-Trent Branch until 1974. He was given a long service medal in 1976.

Fencing salesman Keith Henshall is one of three sons Mr Henshall leaves behind.

The 58-year-old, of Kingsnorth Place, Meir, said his father was always doing things for other people.

He said: "My dad was always a person who was caring for others. That is the way he was all his life.

"He was proud to hold the standard during Remembrance Day parades, but his health slowly deteriorated over the years and he passed that on.

"One of the things that make me laugh about him is his first car, that was held together with fibreglass. He was driving down King Street one day and the floor fell out."

Mr Henshall, a widower, also leaves behind five grandchildren.

His funeral takes place at Carmountside Crematorium on Thursday at 12.15pm.