SIR Simon Boyle KCVO, the former Lord Lieutenant of Gwent (2001-2016) died on Friday, September 4, aged 79.

Simon Boyle was born in Wiltshire on March 22, 1941, the second of six brothers and was educated at Eton College.

He left school in 1959 and spent the following six years with Stewarts and Lloyds in Australia and the UK.

After four years with Avon Rubber in Wiltshire, he joined British Steel.

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He worked for British Steel for 31 years, 25 of which were spent at Llanwern.

He was latterly responsible for export sales management for the whole of the Strip Division.

During that period, he was High Sheriff for Gwent in 1993/4 and was made a Deputy Lieutenant for Gwent in 1997.

When he retired from Corus (formerly British Steel) in 2001, he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant for Gwent, taking over from Sir Richard Hanbury-Tenison, of Clytha Park. He served in this role until 2016.

He was appointed Justice of the Peace and a Companion of the Order of St John in 2002.

He served as chairman of Gwent Criminal Justice Board from 2003 to 2005, and as president of the Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations from 2006 to 2016.

He was also vice-chairman of St David’s Hospice in Newport for 25 years.

In 2015, Sir Simon was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO).

He very much enjoyed his time as Lord Lieutenant, saying how impressed he was by the many charitable and other activities going on in Gwent. He always said that some of the most memorable moments were the three visits made to Gwent by the Queen.

The first was to Newport on her 2002 Golden Jubilee tour, the second to Ebbw Vale on her Diamond Jubilee tour in 2012, and her last visit was in 2014 to the Design Group in Ystrad Mynach, the company which makes Christmas crackers and wrapping paper under Royal Warrant.

A tall, kind man who was always interested in others, he was a keen sailor who enjoyed country pursuits and trips on steam trains with his friends.

He also sang with the Crickhowell Choral Society and was the organist in his local church for more than 30 years.

He was happily married to Catriona for 50 years and they have four daughters and eight grandchildren.