For those who lived in Southend before it broke away from Essex County Council in 1997, the name Douglas Moulson will ring bells.

Douglas was the last town clerk under the old Southend Borough Council when it gained unitary status.

Although the council kept its old title, the town clerk became chief executive and town clerk and now simply chief executive. So Douglas was the end of an era.

He was born in 1936 in Bradford and came from very humble beginnings.

The eldest of five children he was the only sibling who was able to go to the local grammar school.

On leaving school he wanted to become a professional rugby player but his parents encouraged him towards accountancy so he started work at Bradford City Council. National Service called to him but he returned to Bradford in 1956.

In 1958, he married Betty and a year later Andrew was born. He then moved, in 1960, to Eastbourne Borough Council as accountancy assistant and in 1970 to Cambridge City Council where he swiftly rose through the ranks from principal accountant to assistant city treasurer and then deputy city treasurer.

Always keen for promotion, Carlisle beckoned and in 1978 he was appointed city treasurer and in 1985 he finally landed in Southend as director of finance and then from 1988 to 1997 as town clerk.

He was the driving force behind Southend becoming a unitary authority. He was a ferocious defender of Southend, worked excessive hours and thrived on it. He was a strong Royalist, had met Princess Anne when she came to visit Southend in 1991 to open the new Lifeboat Station and had a permanent invitation each year to attend Royal garden parties.

Retirement bought a complete change in lifestyle.

He still had huge energy, was gregarious and always the life and soul of the party, loving a gin and tonic or glass of wine.

As a younger man, he played rugby at County level, tennis, squash, cricket and with Betty, was an avid Bridge player.

A friend was heard to say that when Douglas retired he could learn how to play golf – he’d been playing for a number of years, but apparently not very well.

He loved animals and over the decades, three golden labradors, four Russian blue cats and two adopted moggies all had the surname Moulson.

A Christian man who had a running battle with the local vicar about the length of sermons - seven minutes was adequate, five minutes very acceptable but 10 minutes far too long.

In 2003 he lost Betty, who had spent 47 years supporting him and in 2009 he suffered a severe stroke which left him almost completely disabled.

When he was due to leave hospital he was asked if he’d like to go into a nursing home and he just said “Go Home”, so that’s what he did.

His companion of many years, Denise, retired in 2010 and took on the roll of fulltime carer, with the support of daily visits from a care provider.

He spent most of his time watching sport on TV and one of his joy was to sit and watch the garden changing with the seasons, the birds coming to feed, a blackbird that visited daily to bathe in the bird bath and the odd fox.

A man who provided well for his family and had friends he’d know for 35 years.

Douglas died peacefully on 4th April and his funeral will be held on May 3 at St Augustine’s Church, Thorpe Bay at 1pm.