Sir John Smith
Today we are on our way by car to Torbay but thinking of the memorial service this morning in the chapel of Eton College. Of course his memorial will exist well beyond our lives and his:
Through The Manifold Trust he was instrumental in bringing HMS Belfast to London and SS Great Britain to Bristol.
He founded The Landmark Trust which rescues and restores vernacular buildings and makes them available for occupation as holiday lets.
As a director of The National Trust he is credited with persuading that body to take on the Southern Stratford Canal and restore it for leisure use and, arguably, giving impetus to all subsequent canal restoration projects. He also reunited the founders of IWA after their rift. His contribution to the inland waterways may never be fully appreciated. (Recently The Manifold Trust contributed substantially to the Lichfield and Hatherton Canal Restoration campaign)

For a fuller obituary go to The Independent Online