A BRENT Labour stalwart has died aged 76 after decades of service to politics and education in the borough.

A funeral was held for Dai Davies in Melksham on Saturday, May 8th, following his death the Tuesday before.

He is survived by his sons, Andrew and Paul, and daughter Cathy.

Councillor Jim Moher (Lab/Fryent) said: “He was an outstanding example of the best that the tempestuous Brent educational and political scene has produced over the last five decades.”

Mr Davies, the son of a Welsh miner, came to London in the 1950s when he became a teacher and member of the Communist Party.

He met his Australian wife and lifelong partner Monica and was a leading figure in the Brent Teachers' Association for many years.

He campaigned for high ratios of teachers to pupils in Brent schools and good conditions for teachers working in the borough.

He taught in Wembley High School before becoming headteacher of Oakington Manor Primary School, also in Wembley.

He was a school governor at Byron Court Primary School and in the late 1970s became the full-time north London regional official for the National Union of Teachers (NUT).

Cllr Moher said: “Dai joined the Labour Party in the 1960s, soon becoming a key activist.

“He served in most of the key party offices assisting generations of young activists like the late Paul Daisley, Ann John and me to develop.

“His passion, apart from his family, his native Wales, rugby and cricket – he was a keen rugby player as a young man, was, of course, education policy and what he regarded as its natural corollary – socialism.

“He was one of the stalwarts who helped the party back from the brink in the 1980s.”