A MINUTE of silence was held in honour of Jeff Osborn at County Hall yesterday as councillors were able to share personal memories of the much-loved Trowbridge character.

Mr Osborn, who had been a councillor in the town since 1996, died at the Royal United Hospital in Bath last month after a short illness.

A number of tributes were read out at the full council meeting from fellow colleagues including Baroness Jane Scott.

She said: “I sit here looking across this chamber and there is this great big hole from Jeff not being with us.

“Although we were on the opposite ends of the political spectrum, I think Jeff outside the chamber were quite good friends.

“I think we all feel a little bit guilty about the RUH Hopper. We had to make decisions that I know Jeff didn’t like but he fought and fought.”

The 73-year-old started his political career in the 1980s as a Labour candidate running in the 1983 Somerton & Frome election. Following that defeat, he became a Liberal Democrat and eventually declared himself an Independent.

He had been a Trowbridge town councillor and West Wiltshire district councillor since 1996, and a Wiltshire county councillor since 2001.

Mr Osborn’s wife Helen, who he married in 1967 and shares two daughters with, is still recovering from a heart operation.

Many of Mr Osborn’s colleagues attended his funeral at the Wesley Road Methodist Church on April 28 including fellow campaigner Terry Chivers who said at the meeting: “Jeff will be a hard act to follow. He was always campaigning on something or another and he always put the people of his ward first and certainly the people of Wiltshire first.

“He always had a story to tell and a campaign to fight.”

Mr Osborn’s daughter Rachel added: “The past weeks have been challenging for us.

“In truth, I hardly remember a time where Jeff wasn’t reading through council minutes, making notes on agendas, scrutinising papers that he would look through in great detail, drafting motions, planning a campaign or speaking on the phone with folk in his ward, councillors or with the press.

“I know for many years that this setting, this place and gathered group of people were all essential to Jeff’s being and his living out his calling.”

Before his career in politics, Mr Osborn moved to Trowbridge in 1974 where he became a sociology teacher at Trowbridge Technical College, now part of Wiltshire College, and worked there for 24 years.

The Royal Engineers gave Mr Osborn a guard of honour after he joined the Merchant Navy at 15 and after four years at sea he enlisted in the Army, serving in places including Germany, Cyprus and Aden.

He also spent time in Hereford attached to the SAS.