A service of thanksgiving celebrated the life of a prominent figure in the community.

Ray Bernie OBE, former chief executive of Ellesmere  Port and Neston Borough Council, was remembered at a  service which took place at St Paul’s Church Hooton.

Mr Bernie passed away on July 20, at the age of 88.

The service was led by Peter Vaughan, and he was joined by  family members, councillors and people in the community.

Ray was born on December 17, 1924, in Wrexham, the only  child of two immigrants from a remote area in northern  Italy.

It was at Holywell Grammar he met his future wife, Sadie  Stubbs.

Ray finished his sixth form exams in 1943 and was called up  for the Royal Navy.

He was selected for officer training for the armada planned  for the D-Day Normandy landings.

In June 1944, aged 19,  he was second in command of a ship with a crew of 24,  designed to land 200 troops directly on to a sandy beach.

The ship ferried reinforcements out to France and brought  back wounded Allied troops and German prisoners of war.

After the war, he studied for a law degree at King’s College  in London, while Sadie attended Bedford College nearby.

Ray excelled in his exams and also did his articles with the  town clerk of Aldershot, and this was his first contact with  local government.

In 1949, he married Sadie, who was working as a teacher.

Ray worked for a short period with a firm of solicitors before  returning to local government  working for Ellesmere Port  Council as assistant solicitor.

Then, at the age of 31, he took up the post of town clerk of  Ellesmere Port. Ray and Sadie moved to  Berwick Road, in Little Sutton,  where they lived together happily until  her death in 2008.

During Ray’s time in Ellesmere Port, he saw the town  develop substantially.

He is credited for persuading Vauxhall to build their new car  factory in the town, keeping Ellesmere Port and Neston in  Cheshire, establishing the twinning scheme with the German town of Reutlingen, and many more over the 34 years  until his retirement in 1984.

In 1980, Ray was awarded the Order of the British Empire for  services to local government.

Donations of  £480  for The Alzheimer’s Society were collected.