TRIBUTES have been paid to a long-standing Liberal Democrat and one of the original members of the Endeavour Trust – a successful mission to bring one of the Dunkirk ‘little ships’ back to Leigh from Kent.

Chris Bailey, 70, died last Monday after suffering a heart attack while at sea sailing in Scotland.

The popular Lib Dem served as councillor for the then Prittlewell ward in the 1970s, and then the Leigh ward in the 1980s.

He has been praised for his dedication to the community by the Southend Liberal Democrats, as well as the Endeavour Trust where he was a treasurer.

Endeavour trustee, Peter Wexham, said: “Endeavour Trust treasurer Chris Bailey, who died unexpectedly this week, has been involved in the community of Leigh since the 1960s.

“He was one of the first people to join what is now the Endeavour Trust when it started as a fundraiser to bring the Endeavour back to Leigh from a boatyard in the Medway.

“He has been involved ever since, being a committee member, then chair and at the time of his death, our treasurer.

“He was involved in Thorpe Bay Rotary Club and the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships and was a skipper for BESC, the sailing club for the Bank of England where he was employed all his working life.

“Chris had been on Endeavour on the Portsmouth trip to the D-Day commemorations in early June. More recently, he flew to Scotland to join a yacht chartered by the Bank of England sailing around the Scottish islands. He suffered a heart attack on the boat.

“Chris’s absence will be a great loss to the Endeavour Trust and our hearts go out to his wife Judith, his children Philippa and Dominic, and his two grandchildren at this sad time.”

A Southend Lib Dem spokesman said: “It is with great sadness that Southend Liberal Democrats announce the death of Chris Bailey, who died from natural causes while sailing in Scotland.

“Chris was someone for whom the expression ‘stalwart’ was invented. He joined the Liberal Party in 1965, when he was 16. He has worked continuously and tirelessly for the Liberals and their successors, the Liberal Democrats, since that date.

“Chris will be greatly missed by the whole community.”