TRIBUTES have been paid to a much-loved Monmouth man following his death.

Bob Blake - a former Monmouth School pupil - died aged 91 at his home in Monmouth yesterday, Wednesday, September 18.

Monmouth School led the tributes to 'a wonderful ambassador for the school and the town.'

His support for the school saw the school hall rebuilt and transformed into a state-of-the-art venue - named Blake Theatre after Mr Blake - which opened in 2005 and is a hub for the Monmouth community.

Monmouth School for Boys second master Simon Dorman presented Mr Blake with a cake on his 90th birthday and fondly remembers him. He said: “Mr Blake’s generosity for Monmouth School for Boys has been outstanding for many years and we are all very saddened by the news.

“It was always a pleasure to speak to Mr Blake and hear his warmth and affection for the school, the staff and the pupils.”

Mr Blake joined the school as a pupil in 1938 and would travel daily from Cinderford by bus to attend.

He was rewarded each year with a form prize during his time at the school due to his large work ethic and excellent memory.

Mr Blake was the captain of rugby at the school and remembered with great fondness a 1945 match where the school beat Llandovery 33-0 in their first game since the second year of World War II.

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His academic record showed that he excelled at physics, chemistry, maths, English, French and history. He wanted to attend the University College London but was encouraged by JFC Dicker, a member of staff at the school, to go to Oxford University. He was accepted for a place at the prestigious Lincoln College, Oxford to read chemistry.

After attending university, he held a position with Proctor & Gamble in the pharmaceuticals industry. Mr Blake became a firm fixture in the company, working for them for 35 years across their Kent, Manchester and Essex locations until he retired aged 60.

He spent two years in Winchester on National Service and was commissioned into the Royal Artillery. He also had three and a half years in the Territorial Army. It was here that he continued to show his excellence by teaching a fellow serviceman to read and write.

Mr Blake wanted to set up a scholarship for students from the Forest of Dean who were heading to Oxford and his wife Valerie advised him to ask Lincoln College what they needed. At the time, the college chapel was in need of investment. He made an extremely generous donation and the chapel thanked him with a memorial for his wife - who passed away in 1994.

There is also a glass memorial in Monmouth School for Boys' chapel that is dedicated to Mrs Blake.

Fond of choral music, Mr Blake also funded a choral scholarship at Lincoln College, Oxford in memory of another Old Monmothian Paul Langford.

Every year on 'Speech Day', he would donate chemistry, music and CCF prizes and had a strong passion for cricket.

He was fond of quoting Chaucer and Mr Blake's memory and knowledge remained intact until his final days.

Mr Blake leaves behind four nieces and two nephews and was looked after in his final years by friend and carer Stephen Protheroe.

Mr Blake always had advice to young Old Monmothians: “share your knowledge and your kindness and make the most of every opportunity. Talk to people – give them your time – they will respond to you.”

Details of the funeral service have not yet been released.