DERICK Shapland, Morris dancer, Buddhist and countryside lover, has died aged 68.

Mr Shapland, known as Rod, died of prostate cancer on March 20, having received support from Dorothy House Hospice.

Born in London, Mr Shapland moved to Wiltshire with a young family and worked for many years at County Hall, where he was head of training for social services. He lived in Westwood, near Bradford on Avon.

He joined Bathampton Morris Men in his 30s and never looked back, dancing with them for the rest of his life and taking on the role of Squire in the 1990s.

His wife Barbara, 65, who shared his life for 18 years, said: "He had a real love of dancing, the good social life that it gave him and the friends he made within the group."

At his funeral yesterday members of the Bathampton Morris order acted as pall bearers and performed one of Mr Shapland's favourite dances, called Shepherd's Hay Fieldtown.

Although dancing with the group was a major part of his life Mr Shapland had other passions.

He and his wife Barbara were Buddhists and also travelled to the Gambia together with the Voluntary Service Overseas to help mentor people offering services to locals. They subsequently returned to the country several times.

A Francophile, Mr Shapland spoke good French and also German and enjoyed travelling in the south of France.

He also trained as a psychotherapist in mental health and ran a private practice.

The countryside and wildlife was his other fundamental passion. Described by friends as a quiet, wise and special man, he liked nothing more than to go walking through the rural parts of Wiltshire and the Lake District and was also a keen fell-walker.

He leaves his wife Barbara, daughter Marianna and son Tim from a previous marriage, grandchildren Maddie and Reuben and sister Linda as well as Barbara's three children and nine grandchildren.

3:54pm Thursday 27th March 2008

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