A PASSIONATE Fairlie activist and community councillor has sadly passed away at the age of 76 following a battle with cancer.

Grandfather David Telford was a devoted community councillor for more than 20 years who fought with great vigour on local issues, having spearheaded many campaigns throughout the decades.

David was born and brought up in Airdrie to Robert and Agnes, and had a happy childhood attending Airdrie Academy, with a particular talent for art, and a passion for the writings of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.

David left school and began a successful career in the construction industry. Sadly, his early life was touched by tragedy as older brother Jack passed away at the age of 21.

David's paternal grandfather was a coal miner and a founding member of the Labour Party, and this upbringing shaped his social conscious.

David met the love of his life Laura Wood and that was the start of a very happy family life together.

David was very proud of his work and his construction projects included involvement in building Hampden Park, Kelvinhall, Erskine Bridge, the Theatre Royal, Inverkip Power Station, and Hunterston B Power Station, to name just a few. He also ran his own construction business.

It was through construction work at Hunterston that David first encountered Fairlie and moved to the village.

When he retired, David devoted his time to his family, friends and the community around him which involved his long standing work with the community council.

He was well known for not letting any worthy cause be dropped - and they say the pen is mightier than the sword, but for David, the email was mightier still.

He fought relentlessly for a fatal road accident inquiry following a tragic road crash in the village, secured a seat for coastal communities on the marine planning partnership, as well as researching the effect of infrasound from wind turbines.

His campaigning and sense of justice was well known in the village, and once in his working career, he refused to leave a building site on a Friday afternoon until the 30-odd bricklayers were paid their wages.

David's insight to working practices through his own experiences added to his fierce determination to make sure giant companies toed the line with industrial developments proposed on the village's doorstep.

With his love for literature, David also spent years campaigning Glasgow City Council to restore Augustus John's portrait of the Irish poet, dramatist and writer, WB Yeats, to be available for public viewing, and it is now on display in Kelvingrove Museum.

David was also chairperson of the Fairlie Gala Committee which ran the family gala week event in the village over many years.

He was also a member of Mensa, and had a certificate for advanced driving.

And in 2012, David's life was saved after he suffered a heart attack on a train between Glasgow and Paisley Gilmour Street, after attending community council business, as an off duty nurse and a dental student helped to give him CPR before the train got to the station where he was taken away in an ambulance.

Both David's sons Jamie and Rory, and stepsons Robbie and Kenny, spoke movingly at David's funeral at Clyde Coast and Garnock Valley crematorium on Friday about different aspects of his life.

Son Jamie spoke about David's community work, and said: "Dad cared about people, and was undoubtedly a family man, but the word family didn't begin and end at his front door, and to him family meant friends, neighbours, the local community, and had a love for the country and beyond.

"He taught me of the terrible sacrifices that his grandfather and his father made during the two world wars, and never to glorify warfare. 

"Dad was a gentlemen who would always fight peacefully with the email and pen his own weapons for what he believed was true.

"He will be missed by the community that he fought for and loved, not least by those of us here today to celebrate his life."

The speeches were followed by a warm round of applause in memory of the much loved grandfather and community figure.

David passed away at Crosshouse Hospital on October 12, and is survived by Laura, sons Jamie and Rory, stepchildren Robbie and Kenny, and grandchildren Ewan, Lily, Hamish, Alba and Sophie.

A collection took place after David's funeral for North Ayrshire Cancer Care, and fittingly an after reception took place in the Village Inn in Fairlie where he was a member of the Monday club, and spent many happy times with family and friends.