FAMILY, friends and supporters of Grays Athletic FC paid tribute to long time club supporter and stalwart Peter Jackson at his funeral at Corbets Tey today (Wednesday, 4 February).

Mr Jackson passed away after several years of ill health in January and tributes were paid at the funeral and celebration of his life.

The celebrant was Jim Cooper, a former manager of Grays Athletic, who told the gathering about Peter's upbringing, his lifelong love of football which included him being a highly-rated who could have made the grade in the professional game but instead opted to join the RAF on his 18^th birthday and where he served for 18 years which included tours of duty in Malaysia, Malta, Singapore and Cyprus as an engineer and fitter looking after aircraft.

Mr Cooper described him as a very intelligent and trusted member of the RAF who was commended on his discharge.

He went on to recall Peter's decision to go into work locally and support his mother and siblings as his father had passed away. He became the father figure to his siblings, saying: "He remained a gentleman throughout his life. He was a very generous person, not just regarding financial help, but also with his time.

"Never did he make excuses to leave anyone's company, he was a truly genuine, nice man.

"Sadly on 9^th January Peter passed away.

"The day Peter passed, the world as we know it was made a poorer place. However, I am sure that you will agree when I say that the world was made a much better place because he was a part of it."

Former Grays Athletic chairman Steve Skinner also spoke warmly about Mr Jackson, saying: "It is often said that volunteers are the heartbeat of non-League football and as a community football club we have been blessed with a number of dedicated volunteers over the years and Peter Jackson was one of our finest.

"He was an integral part of our football club and his contribution and commitment to Grays athletic over so many years was greatly appreciated by the owners, directors, fellow supporters and the management teams and playing squads.

"He was so dependable and reliable and rarely missed a game, whatever the weather. Nothing was too much trouble for Peter.

"He was also an outstanding cameraman and always managed to capture the key incidents of our games.

"He was also skilled at capturing the surroundings and the supporters in attendance to ensure that fans who couldn't get to the game got a feel of how proceedings unfolded.

"As well as our photographer, he was a passionate fan of our club. He supported all of the fundraising initiatives and was there at every social event and presentation.

"In 2019 he was honoured with the Bryan Coker award for Supporter of the Year, which was richly deserved."