Dewsbury's 'coronation baby' George Pickles dies aged 85

George was the first baby boy born in Dewsbury on the day of the Coronation of King George VI - May 12, 1937.

His parents were paid a visit a couple of days later by the mayor and given a silver spoon, a silver cup and a one pound note, on the condition that he was named George.

"We still have the cup and spoon, but I’m led to believe that the one pound note was used to buy a pram," said George's daughter Helen.

"It was unique to Dewsbury. We had a slip of paper that said it was presented via the mayor by a lady from Earlsheaton.

"I won't go into all the details but basically they had to prove he was male!"

Helen says George was proud of being known as Dewsbury's coronation baby.

"He liked talking about lots of things about himself!" she said.

"He wasn't shy so he did tell people about it, including the inappropriate bit about them checking to see he was a boy!"

George was brought up on Moorside Road, one of four children, and attended Victoria Secondary Modern in Dewsbury.

He got a mechanical engineering apprenticeship at TS Harrison's in Heckmondwike, during which he was called up for national service in the RAF.

He became senior aircraftsman and was a flight mechanic working on the meteor aircraft.

After spending a couple of years as a policeman in Halifax, George went back into engineering, at Garner's in Hightown.

George set up his own machine tool business in 1970, based in Brighouse, and then managed a couple of foundry's, Woodcock and Booth in Brighouse, and Allcast Foundry in Leeds.

He then returned to the machine tool business at the Riverbank Enterprise Centre with his son in Dewsbury until he retired and moved to Ripon in 2001.

There, he held the post of Ripon Hornblower for around 12 years.

George and his wife Lilian were married in Dewsbury park in 1958, having met at the Kier Hardie dance hall on Vernon Road in Heckmondwike. They first set up home in Cleckheaton, moving to Bailiff Bridge and then Roberttown.

"You knew you'd met him," said Helen. "He was definitely larger than life, always immaculately dressed, very smart, very squeaky clean, 100 per cent loyal, very rule-abiding and always the champion for what was right and wrong.

"He was a loyal and devoted husband and father, fiercely defensive if anybody tried to wrong any of us.

"Wherever we lived he was always involved in committees and associations locally.

"He arranged days out for the old people when we lived in Roberttown, raised money for the RAF welfare association, he'd help out with anything going."

George died very suddenly, but peacefully earlier this month.

"After preparing vegetables for the following day's Sunday lunch and exchanging some jokey text messages with the family, he went to bed and didn't wake up on Sunday morning," said Helen.

"I don't think he even knew he was ill. He was strong as an ox and never had a day's sickness in his life."

George is survived by his wife of 64 years Lilian, children Karen, 62, Stephen, 59, and Helen, 53, grandchildren Matthew, 35, Thomas, 34, Lucy, 28, and James, 21 and great-grandchildren Harrison, five, Hazel, two and Callie, also two.

A celebration of George's life will be held at Ripon Cathedral at 2.30pm on September 30, which anyone who knew him is welcome to attend.