A COMMEMORATIVE tree was planted on Tuesday in memory of a former Ealing councillor.

The tree in Walpole Park is in memory of Bill Morbey, who served for 29 years as a councillor and was made an honorary freeman of the borough in 1991.

As a councillor, Bill was fond of his work with the amenities and parks committees and took pride in his grassroots community work, including the mobile library service.

His family said in a statement: “He was rather a shy man who would always put others before himself. “He never wanted people to make a fuss of him and seemed mildly embarrassed whenever being thanked or congratulated for what he had done for them. He would always say he was just doing his job.”

Bill and Violet married in 1943 and, after Bill had been demobbed from the Royal Army Medical Corps, they moved to the North Greenford area.

He died in 2011 at the age of 94 and his wife, Violet, two years later, aged 95.

The family were delighted when the borough agreed to the planting of a cedar tree in Walpole Park in memory of Bill and Violet, which it sees as a fitting tribute.

At an informal service, family members and other freemen of the borough, including former mayors and councillors, were present.