Long-serving Corsham Girls’ School cook Brenda Sweet died at the Royal United Hospital, Bath, on May 25, aged 84.

Born near Lechlade, Gloucestershire, to Bill and Nora Stevens, she grew up in Langford with three brothers.

At an early age she went into service, working as a cook for Lord and Lady Howard of Penrith, where she met her future husband, Burnley Sweet, a gardener on the estate.

The couple married in 1949, and had two sons, Derek and Brian.

The family moved to Corsham in the 1960s. Mr Sweet started working at the Westinghouse factory, near Chippenham, while Mrs Sweet worked in the kitchen at Corsham Girls’ School, where she stayed for 27 years.

Despite suffering from arthritis she remained a keen cook long into her retirement, and enjoyed hosting friends and neighbours at the family home.

A determined and strong-willed woman, she got on very well with her neighbours, and regarded her close friends as family.

Her funeral was held on Tuesday at West Wiltshire Crematorium, with donations in her memory going to Cancer Research UK. Following the funeral a reception for friends and family was held at The Bell in Yatton Keynell.