Tribute paid as former Bury St Edmunds town councillor Cliff Hind dies aged 77

A former town councillor and well-known figure in Bury St Edmunds has died aged 77.

Cliff Hind, who lived on the Moreton Hall estate, died last Friday at West Suffolk Hospital with his wife Diane and son Kevin by his side. He had been battling a number of health conditions.

Cliff served as a Bury town councillor between 2011 and 2015, was chair of the Moreton Hall Residents' Association and, for about five years, was vice chair of the Friends of Kevelaer.

He was also the treasurer of the Bury St Edmunds Constituency Labour Party from 2011 to 2018 and chair of Friends of Moyse's Hall up until his death.

Most recently he organised a visit to the Guildhall, in Bury, from the great great grandson of Charles Dickens, Gerald Dickens.

Diane, a Bury Town councillor and Labour group leader for West Suffolk Council, said her husband of 47 years was a man who lived with many health conditions but 'had an active life despite them all’.

“He was a wonderful husband and father, that’s the most important thing,” she said.

She added: “He was a kind and gentle man and that’s what people say about him.

“We did enjoy spending time together and even simple things like watching the birds, and he was a big West Ham fan. We loved going to the matches together.”

Cliff, born in East London six days before D-Day, was an industrial chemist by profession and for the last 20 years of his career worked in the pharmaceutical sector.

Diane, who met Cliff through hospital radio in Havering, Essex, said the community had shown her and Kevin great support since last Friday.

“We have been overwhelmed with a lot of letters and cards and flowers.

She added: "As I said, it's always the same thing, what a kind and gentle man he was.

“To have just had so many lovely notes from across the political spectrum and all our friends - it’s been a comfort.”

A funeral service has been arranged for Cliff on June 1 at the West Suffolk Crematorium in Risby, followed by a celebration of his life at Bury Golf Club.