TRIBUTES have been paid to Chippenham Town FC life member Robert Michael Ballinger following his death on October 31.

Mr Ballinger, husband of the late Doris, died at the Prospect Hospice in Wroughton aged 86.

Described as club stalwart on the Chippenham Town website, Mr Ballinger was a club secretary in the late 1960s and early 1970s and his great nephew Luke plays for The Bluebirds now.

His son, Tim Ballinger, 60, said: “I always got on well with him; he always supported me and liked being his own person.

“Prospect Hospice in Wroughton really looked after him well so he didn’t have to stay at home on his own.

“He really enjoyed the football and put a lot into it, he always followed them.”

As well as a tribute on the club’s website, youth development officer, Barry Stevens, spoke ahead of a minute’s silence at Chippenham Town’s Hardenhuish Park on Saturday.

He said: “His dad took him to matches as a small boy; he lived for the town and served as a member of the committee.

“He was always proud that other members of the family, Brian, and then Luke, played for the town.

“He was on the committee for quite a number of years and part of that time was as secretary, one of the most senior posts in the club.”

Despite being unable to attend fixtures in more recent years, Mr Ballinger always listened out for the club’s score on local radio and read about Town in The Non League Paper and the Gazette & Herald.

Former club chairman, Sandie Webb, said: “He was one of the brave people who, when the club was looking like it was going to fold, he stepped up and helped to save it.

“He was one of the guys who stepped in in the 1970s, it nearly went under but it survived thank goodness.

“I have fond memories of him; he was brilliantly knowledgeable about the time he was at the club.”

A funeral service for Mr Ballinger will take place tomorrow at Wootton Bassett Methodist Church at 1.30pm.