'Kind and dedicated' parish councillor remembered after more than 50 years of service
Tributes have been paid to a "kind and dedicated" parish councillor who gave a "lifetime of devotion" to his area.
Brian Bladen, Chairman of Cheslyn Hay Parish Council, died at his home on October 12, aged 82.
He represented both Cheslyn Hay and Great Wyrley as a parish councillor for more than 50 years, having started out in 1970, and also served on South Staffordshire District Council for 15 years
Friends and former colleagues today remembered him as a kind and trustworthy man who devoted his life to the area where he was born and bred.
Councillor Bernard Williams, who represents Cheslyn Hay South on South Staffordshire District Council, said: "Brian was a very quiet, kind and dedicated man, who did his job with great expertise and helped many, many people.
"His knowledge of the area was second to none, and if you needed any help, you went to Brian and you got it. That was Brian in a nutshell.
"He gave a lifetime of devotion to the people of Cheslyn Hay and Great Wyrley. He was well known in the area, and quite frankly, he was a man you could trust. "
Mr Bladen was instrumental in the purchase of what is now the village hall from the county council, and helped to provide sports facilities for the local community.
He held a number of other roles in the community, including chair of governors at a local secondary school and sat on the Staffordshire Parish Council Association.
In a varied career, he worked at Sankey's in Bilston as a tool maker, tested motorcycles for the Ministry of Defence and was a coach driver. He also worked at Villiers before finishing his career at Bloxwich Engineering.
He cared deeply for the love of his life, wife Muriel, who died just over two years ago.
Derek Watson, who served with him on parish councils and the district council, said his friend would be "greatly missed".
"Brian did so much for the area – a lot of it behind the scenes – and he never looked for any praise for it," he said.
"You could ring him up at a minute's notice and say something needed to be done and he'd be there.
"He knew everything there was to know about the village and went about his work in a quiet, unassuming and unannounced way.
"He was a true friend, a 'once met, never forgotten' kind of bloke."
A celebration of life service will be held for Mr Bladen on Friday at 11am at the Village Hall in Pinfold Lane, Cheslyn Hay, WS6 7HP.
