I WRITE to you with great sadness because as I was on my travels through Malton cemetery recently, I was made aware of the grave of Jason Fitzgerald-Smith, who died in February.

To me he was a man who was a little eccentric at times, but very loyal and devoted to the Malton community in which he lived.

He served for 27 years in the Armed Forces serving in Cyprus, Libya, Germany and carried out five tours in Northern Ireland.

He remained connected to various groups after his retirement from the Armed Forces.

In 1999, he moved to the Malton area with his partner whom he was with for the best part of 30 years.

Over the next 15 years he became involved with the Malton community serving as a deputy mayor and mayor, he was elected as a county councillor and was on the North Yorkshire Police Authority.

This man was who I would call a pillar of the community who served his country and community well and was not afraid to get involved with local issues. I remember reading his obituary on February 15, 2014, and the last paragraph read, and I quote: “He was highly respected for his diplomacy, friendship, generosity and ease of manner and he will be greatly missed by Penny, his family and all who knew him.”

I feel saddened that the country that he served, the community he became involved with and family, and all those that knew him and were going to remember him appear to have forgotten who he was as soon as he had been buried in the ground.

I personally will remember him and others like him.

Audie Sellars, Norton