Tributes paid to author, historian and 'Bilston hero' Ron Davies
Tributes have been paid to celebrated local author Ron Davies, who has died at the age of 94.
Mr Davies, who was described as "a real Bilston hero", was well known for documenting the town's proud history in a series of eight photography books over a 15-year period.
He has been remembered as "a lovely man" and an "outstanding" local historian, who did all he could to put Bilston on the map and donated some of the proceeds from his work to local good causes.
Mr Davies finished the final book in his series, entitled Bilston, Bradley and Ladymore, in 2015, an illustrated historical guide which celebrates the three areas' industrial heritage, as well as the strong sense of community and unique characters who live and work there.
Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden, said: "The collections of photographs that Ron published in his series of books on Bilston, Bradley and Ladymoor are a fantastic local history.
"For Ron, it was always a labour of love putting together these collections. He made appeals for the pictures and then lovingly put them together in his books.
"He covered everything from workplaces, to schools to family life in a fascinating series of books. I helped him launch a few of the books and he was a lovely man.
"He will be sorely missed but the priceless local history that he compiled will live on and tell the story of Bilston, Bradley and Ladymoor long into the future."
West Midlands historian and author Carl Chinn said: "Ron was an outstanding local historian who researched his work deeply, extensively and successfully.
"He made sure Bilston and Bradley were pushed to the fore and over the years he produced some excellent work.
"He was also a very generous man who I admired greatly."
Mr Davies, who was a close friend of the late Lord Dennis Turner, produced a number of other books on local matters.
