12:55pm Thursday 2nd September 2010
By Alex Winter
Friends of Tony Perry, whose body was discovered in the river near Horsebrook, Calne, on Sunday morning, have paid tribute to the man they described as a “true gentleman.”
Mr Perry, 60, lived alone in the Horsebrook cul-de-sac. Police have said that there are no suspicious circumstances, but have not yet determined a cause of death.
Calne Liberal Club secretary Maxine Burchell has known Mr Perry for 30 years.
“He was a man who never upset anybody,” she said. “Everybody here at the Liberal Club has been very badly affected by the news of his death. I’ve seen young men crying because he was so well-liked and such a gentleman.”
Mr Perry worked as a long-distance lorry driver for Iceland and Sims among other companies and spent much of his time socialising at Calne Liberal Club.
Club member Carole Campbell has known him for 25 years.
“He used to come and sit in the club by himself with a Daily Mail crossword and a Pilsner,” she said.
“He was a very very happy-go-lucky person. I just remember all these terrible jokes that he used to crack. It was real tumbleweed moment when he made a joke.
“He used to come round to mine for breakfast every Sunday. We were his family. It’s just terrible to think about what’s happened.”
Mrs Burchell said: “He was exactly the same all the time, a very level person.
“Girls used to flock around him. He was very popular with the ladies, he’s definitely broken a few hearts in his time.
“All the women who knew him would come and visit him. It’s so awful. There’s no one with a bad word to say about him, he was very loved. I am going to miss him so, so much.”
Mrs Campbell last spoke to him around 9.15pm on Saturday. “He sounded absolutely fine to me, completely normal. Then I got the phone call on Sunday telling me he’s died. It’s so sad. He was a good friend and a real gentleman.”
An inquest into Mr Perry’s death will open today.
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