A FORMER mayor who came out of retirement to rejoin the council two years ago, has died following a short illness.

Alf Catterall, who was dubbed The Comeback Kid by councillors, served on Bexley Council for a total of 22 years.

He died on October 23, aged 77.

Born in Lancashire, he had lived in the borough for more than 40 years.

Cllr Catterall was first elected as a Tory councillor in 1982 and served continuously until 2002.

He represented St Mary’s ward in Bexley Village and was mayor in 1991/2 with his wife, Joan, as mayoress, when he raised cash for his Stepping Stones appeal.

Cllr Catterall retired from the council in 2002.

But he was tempted back in 2006 and, in a Tory landslide, was elected to represent East Wickham ward in Welling.

He formed a partnership on the council with his son Peter, who was elected to St Mary’s ward in 2002 and is now cabinet member for leisure arts and culture.

A chartered engineer, Cllr Catterall senior worked for the former Greater London Council and Lewisham Health Authority then as head of maintenance at London University’s Queen Mary College.

He and his wife helped run a youth club at Bexleyheath Methodist Church and he was a keen member of Bexley Civic Society.

Paying tribute, council leader Councillor Teresa O’Neill said: “Alf’s passing will be a great loss to many people.

“We will miss his enthusiasm, his sense of humour and his warm and caring personality.”

She added: “He gave the borough long and dedicated service and we will always remember him as our Comeback Kid after he was voted back onto the council two years ago.”

His fellow East Wickham councillors also added their tributes.

Councillor James Hunt said: “Alf was dedicated to his role.”

He described his death as “a huge loss for the whole of Bexley”.

And Councillor Michael Tarrant added: “Despite his ill health, he worked tirelessly for the residents of East Wickham and Bexley.”

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