Ross-on-Wye is mourning a prominent local resident this week following the death of Mervyn Tommey on February 24th.

Mr Tommey was born in the town, he ran the local cinema for many years and was a member of Ross Rowing Club. Mervyn was many things, a public servant, a distinguished veteran, a successful businessman but most of all he was a loving family man.

He was married to his wife Pam for 66 years and together they had two sons and a daughter and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Mervyn lived at Redhill Road before moving to Wye Street. After his wedding he moved with his new wife, Pam to their first home, a flat at Wilton, before he was offered the position of manager of the Roxy Cinema in 1950 and they moved into the flat above the cinema.

They stayed there until 1965 when they were were able to move to a new bungalow at Upton Bishop where Mervyn remained for the rest of his life.

There can be few Ross people of a certain age who do not remember Mervyn from the Roxy Cinema, his wife’s hairdressing business, Martine’s, which was opposite their home in Broad Street, or his time as a councillor for Ross when he led a campaign to get a new primary school for the town.See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here