Robert (Rory) John McNeile died in his sleep aged 87 on October 14.

His funeral was held on November 3 at the Parish Church of St Nicholas, Bromham, and he is survived by his three children and eight grandchildren.

Born on July 6, 1927, Mr McNeile spent his childhood at Nonsuch in Bromham, a house his father had bought after moving down from Scotland.

He was educated at Eton between 1939 and 1944 where people remember him as being exceptionally intelligent and well dressed.

In 1946 he went to Cambridge to study history at Trinity, following in the footsteps of his father.

The first time he met his wife Igrayne was in the early 1950s when he had to pull her onto the train after it had set off, which was possible in those days. The couple married and were together for more than 50 years.

Their early married life was spent in Paris, where he worked for Coopers & Lybrand. They made some lifelong French friends and enjoyed the chance to discover French cuisine and culture.

As well as speaking fluent French he also spoke Portuguese, Latin and Greek.

From 1959-1982 the couple lived in London in Notting Hill Gate, next door to Roy Jenkins, first Northern Ireland secretary and the then Home Secretary.

Back in the UK he joined Tanganyikan Holdings Ltd, commonly known as Tanks, and travelled all over the world to places where they had investments including Angola and Australia.

He also worked for Zebra Housing Trust as one of the founder trustees and carried on his voluntary work with them for more than 50 years.

When his children were growing up, the family spent holidays camping in France, Austria and Germany.

After 1971 Mr and Mrs McNeile regularly spent time in Wiltshire, and then moved to Nonsuch in 1979.

It was the country life that really appealed to them and they soon had a variety of animals including dogs, ponies, pigs, hens and sheep.

Mr McNeile had many hobbies including hunting, racing, shooting and reading. He also loved gardening and in later life was able to complete The Times crossword in less than ten minutes.

After retiring in 1985 he began to support the Campaign to Protect Rural England as well as canvassing for the local MP.

Throughout his life he liked to travel to exotic locations including Syria, Vietnam, India and China, along with enjoying an annual holiday to Cornwall.

Mrs McNeile died in 2011.

He is survived by children, James, Penelope and Peter, and eight grandchildren.