THE death has been announced today (Sunday, 2 October) of Thurrock businessman, charitable stalwart and former political activist Clive Broad.

Mr Broad, of Chestnut Avenue, Grays, was the founder and owner of long-running business Daybreak Windows and played a huge part in the establishment of the UKIP political group in Thurrock, which drew national attention for its success and came close to gaining control of the borough council.

Having successfully fought a battle against cancer a couple of years ago, Mr Broad suffered a cardiac arrest while recently celebrating his seventieth birthday with his extended family. He survived and received treatment at Basildon's cardiothoracic centre and was discharged, but suffered a second attack in the middle of last week and today, after a short spell back in hospital, he lost his battle for life this afternoon.

Thurrock Nub News editor Neil Speight was a friend of Mr Broad and, this evening, pays this tribute to a man whose unquestionable character impacted on the lives of many in the borough.

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CLIVE Broad was one of those few men of honesty and integrity who it has been my pleasure to know and call a friend.

It is equally unquestionably true to say that he was a man who many people found difficult to understand and throughout a colourful and charismatic life in Thurrock he probably alienated as many people as those who came to know, like and befriend him.

But it can never be doubted that he was a man of his word, whose code of honour and forthright nature he wore on his sleeve.

In a world of shallow, mealy-mouthed, self-serving and dishonest people he was a man apart.

Love him or dislike him, those who look back on his life this evening could never say he was a man who succumbed to the whims of popularity above self-respect, nor a man who would shrug aside his beliefs for personal or financial prosperity.

Clive was a many of many parts, some not always in the public domain. What should never be overlooked in reflecting on his passing is that he was a kind man, of generous disposition who was prepared to set apart personal opinion to help those in need.

There are many people in Thurrock this evening who can look back on the help he gave them, without ever asking for reparation or accolade. Clive was always a person ready to offer the hand of friendship to those in need, either privately or publicly – depending on their circumstance.

He was a driving force, for many years, behind the great work of the Rotary Club of Mar Dyke Valley. The gift of countless tens of thousands of pounds handed out over decades by the club to worthy causes, particularly from the Thurrock Cycle Marathon and the Father Christmas sleigh rounds happened in the wake of Clive's boundless willingness to help others.

Not that it was always a barrel of laughs! Many of us who worked with Clive in setting up the marathon or plotting the route and course of Santa's sleigh will have come across his demanding standards of excellence. Put a marquee pole in the wrong place – or turn up late for a sleigh ride – and you would not be spared the sharpness of his tongue. He brought his own meaning to the word curmudgeonly!

But it was never nasty. I can't recall a single instance where Clive, however frustrated he might be with my incompetence or that of others, ever really showed anything other than the engaging search for perfection but always bounded by friendship.

It was a trait he took into his business.

Daybreak Windows was something of an iconic institution in Thurrock. He ran it with an iron fist, but still found time to make it a place of work where his family and friends played just as big a role as his customers. Its staff included his brother, his sons and his friends. They were treated in equal measure and no one could ever find themselves not outworked by a man who led from the front, who got his hands dirty when he needed to and who showed compassion to those who committed to helping him make the company a success.

Work hard for Clive, and he would reward you in equal measure. And he was compassionate in finding work for people. During a period in my journalistic career, following my decision to walk away from a disreputable business, Clive found a job for me. I was given a role in his warehouse, tackling menial jobs, slowly learning skills I never thought were within my grasp and regaining a measure of self esteem I thought I might have lost. The truth is, the business would have got along perfectly well without my efforts, but that wasn't Clive's view.

He wanted to help a friend. And I know I was not the only person who benefitted from such largess over the years.

His attitude to business was also almost unique in the modern world. He believed in the mantra of his word being his bond. Clive despised the business escape route of becoming a limited company. He believed in responsibility for his staff, their work and his products. Despite being short-shrifted many times by unscrupulous companies who failed, sometimes maliciously and knowingly, owing him money and jeopardising others, he steadfastly believed in fulfilling his own obligations.

He offered a pledge to his customers of a guarantee far outstripping his rivals. Get a job done by Daybreak and it came with a ten year guarantee – and I know of many cases where, even years after it expired, a call from an elderly resident or someone in need, about a job that need doing, would result in Clive getting the job done and him shrugging off any payment. The cost of a blown window unit was far less important that someone feeling they mattered.

Money was never his master. Honesty and integrity was.

And that is a mantra he took into other aspects of his life. If you were to come up with a vision of a Churchillian, English blunt-speaking man Clive would fit the bill. He could almost have been a Yorkshireman, about the highest tribute I could pay.

Clive was immensely proud of his heritage and he became a passionate advocate in the belief that power that had ebbed beyond the boundaries of our country was shameful. He embraced the fledgling UKIP party, became a friend of Nigel Farage and – almost single-handedly - built and encouraged the foundations of what was to become one of the UK's strongest UKIP enclaves.

His financial and operational support for the local UKIP group helped it to the brink of power in the borough. At its height UKIP boasted 17 councillors in Thurrock, all backed and helped in no small part by Clive.

UKIP became the most influential political grouping in recent British political history and its legacy continues. Today three former UKIP members sit on the Conservative-controlled council's cabinet. UKIP might have had its day, won its cause and moved on, but it is to be hoped that councillors Jack Duffin, Luke Spillman and Graham Snell doff their caps in the wake of his death in tribute to a man who helped put them where they are today. Others within the council owe him a similar debt.

I myself once stood as a UKIP candidate in Corringham and Fobbing. I craved impartiality and had refused many entreaties from Clive to stand for his party but as the possibility of the group gaining control grew, Clive wanted to ensure that there was enough expertise in the group to manage any power should it gain responsibility.

I was honoured he thought I could contribute to that and so I stood.

Though I was a supporter of Brexit, I was more committed to doorstep democracy affairs and my election material was focussed entirely on local affairs but that was good enough for Clive to back me. I lost by just a couple of hundred votes to young Tory Aaron Watkins but there was no recrimination from Clive – he said, 'you have to go with what you believe in'. How I wish that was something I could say of many self-serving local councillors who put reward above belief.

But that was Clive – honesty was more important than outcome.

Not that his qualities were appreciated by everyone. I was once sat in discussion with a group of people debating local affairs. Clive's name came up. A chap, who I have high regard for, said ' I don't like that man'. I asked why and was told he was a braggart, a bully and a bigot.

I certainly could not deny Clive had strong opinions, but I was intrigued. I asked: 'Do you know him?' I was told no, "but I've heard he's not a nice person". I dug deeper and asked: "How do you know that?" and then the criticism unravelled. He didn't know why or how the reputation had been earned. It turned out the slander had come from political rivals, who were unable to beat his argument but resorted to underhand rhetoric and ill-founded gossip.

When I took the time to talk about positive aspects of Clive which included his countless, unsung, donations to good causes, his unswerving support of sporting organisations – including East Thurrock United where I was a long time secretary – and other charitable causes, I was told 'Oh, I didn't know that'.

Of course he didn't. Clive did not do anything for personal glory or self-effacement. He was, in every way, an unsung hero.

However, I am pleased to be able to say he wasn't unsung by his family, who were the real centrepiece of his life. Clive came through a personal tragedy and enjoyed two families.

His pride and joy in recent years were his two grandchildren to son Craig and his wife Leanne. Sadly they are likely to have few personal memories of a man who really was a legend. But I know that they will hear from so many people just how great their granddad was.

They, and his family - especially Clive's wife Gill - have suffered an irreplaceable loss. Their grief and sense of injustice about a man taken far too early makes the loss felt by Clive's friends, one of whom I feel honoured to be, paltry.

But nevertheless, it is a deep one. Like many others, myself and my family owe a deep gratitude to Clive Broad. He truly was one of a kind and we will all miss him deeply.