Popular postmistress Eileen Clark, who ran the post office at Chirton for more than 24 years, died on November 22, aged 85.

Mrs Clark was born on August 28 1928 at Peasedown St John, near Bath, to Jack and Mary Montague.

She was the youngest of ten children and left school at the age of 14 to work at Colmers, a large department store in Bath.

She had to cycle six miles to and from work, and when she got there she had to stand on a box to see over the counter.

Later she worked for the NAAFI, the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute, at Colerne.

Mrs Clark met her husband Frank, a young sailor working on an aircraft at Beaulieu RAF Station, at a local dance when visiting a friend in Lymington.

They married in 1950 at Peasedown St John but afterwards Mr Clark was stationed on aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean, leaving Eileen at home. Their first child Sue was born while he was away. Not long after mother and daughter joined him in Malta and lived there until October 3, 1953.

The family was living at Conock when Jill was born in 1954 and then David was born in 1960. Shortly after they moved to Chirton, near Devizes, Ray was born to complete the family.

Mrs Clark started running the village shop and in 1969 opened the village post office in her own home at 30 The Street, Chirton.

When the family moved to 10 Patney Road, Chirton, she carried on with the post office and later added the village shop.

She ran a successful business until her retirement in 1993, and during this time she was also elected to Chirton Parish Council, winning a 56 per cent majority vote.

She was a long-standing member of the Chirton Wheelers skittle team, regularly attended the bingo at Marden, and used to run a bottle stall at Chirton fete.

Mr and Mrs Clark joined the Combine Club, for the over-sixties, and enjoyed monthly meetings, including outings to the coast and the famous cathedral town Wells.

Three years after her retirement they moved to Devizes and five years after her retirement she began to help at the British Heart Foundation shop.

Mr Clark said: “She was in her post office shop all the time. She never missed a day in over 24 years, and I know there were times when she could have given it in when she wasn’t very well.

“We had a brilliant life together, 63 years of marriage and 20 years of retirement together, so we have been very fortunate.”