Born in 1887 near Manchester, he was a frugal, humble, humorous man, who was lonely in spirit rather than always solitary in fact.

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Friends paint a somewhat different picture, of a humorous and warm man, utterly loyal to his friends, who adores children and is influenced by his wife.

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The asides are intended to be humorous but are typically delivered with the lightness of touch of a man dumping a fridge at a wild bird sanctuary.

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Mrs Tellett-Davies said she hoped it would be a celebration of the life of a man she described as kind, big-hearted, humorous and consistently uncomplaining throughout his gruelling treatment.

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