A large congregation attended the funeral of former railwayman Leslie Edward Axby, 86, at St Bartholomew and All Saints Church, Wootton Bassett.

Mr Axby had maintained regular links with former colleagues through the railway retirement club at Swindon.

He had completed an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner and was ultimately in charge of maintenance in the machine shop at Swindon Railway Works.

“Les had one of the biggest smiles of anyone I have met, ” Canon Thomas Woodhouse told mourners.

During the Second World War, as a member of a reserved occupation, he also served in the Auxiliary Fire Service, and last year received a long-service award from Wiltshire’s Chief Fire Officer.

Mr Axby could tell and retell stories of those years and loved dancing and opera, his musical tastes encompassing Covent Garden and Proms concerts, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

He and his wife Joan, who met in the Railway Works, were friends for several years prior to their wedding in a snowstorm in 1955 at St Philip’s, Upper Stratton. He was a member of Wootton Bassett Gardening Club.

Mr and Mrs Axby have two daughters, a son and three grandchildren, for whom he made many toys.

The service in church was followed by cremation at Kingsdown and a wake at the Phoenix Club.

Memorial cheques for Prospect Hospice and Wiltshire Air Ambulance may be sent c/o Maslin Funeral Service, 118a High Street, Wootton Bassett SN4 7AU.