TRIBUTES have been paid to a leading lifeboatman, who died aged 92.

Bob Stammers, of Thornbury Road, Clacton, died in Colchester General Hospital after a battle with cancer.

Clacton RNLI’s crew turned out to Weeley Crematorium to pay their respects to Mr Stammers.

But shortly before the service, they were sent out on an emergency call.

Operations manager David Wells said: “Bob was a dedicated lifeboatman.

“He was a character, but he took the job seriously. He was head launcher for many years and was the backbone of the pier launching crew.

“The crew went to his funeral, but we got a page to a shout just before the service, so they had to go. It is what Bob would have wanted – he would have just said ‘go’.”

Mr Stammers died on October 4. His wife Olive, who also suffered from cancer, died on October 26, the day before his funeral.

Mr Stammers was born at Rendlesham Hall, in Suffolk, and lived in Ipswich before joining the Royal Naval Patrol Service, serving on board minesweepers during the Second World War. The couple spent the rest of their lives in Clacton.

Mr Stammers joined the town’s lifeboat and served as shore crew in 1949, before going on to become a crew member and then head launcher when the boat was based on Clacton Pier.

He retired from the RNLI in 1984.

Grandson Barrie Stammers, who joined the Royal Navy in his footsteps, said: “Grandad loved the lifeboat and was dedicated to it – he loved anything to do with the sea.

Mr Stammers also cut the ribbon to open the town’s new lifeboat station, in Hastings Avenue, in 2007.