LIFELONG educationalist and proponent of rights for children, Andrew Hutchinson, has died. He was 74.

Mr Hutchinson was born in Newport the son of the Island's chief education officer, grew up on the Island and although his career took him far afield he retained a lifelong connection.

He and his family had a house at Mottistone, where he was buried following a eucharist of celebration at Southwark Cathedral on November 16.

He took a degree in geography at Newcastle University and taught for a year in a secondary school in Sarawak, Malaysia.

At Christian Aid he was given responsibility for visiting secondary schools.

However, he always had a broader horizon and took two short sabbaticals, to work for the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome and for the UN environmental agency Habitat in Kenya.

He was then head of education at Save the Children, setting up a new unit where he was credited with creating a relaxed and democratic environment and personally inspired many young people both in the office and around the country.

He was a strong advocate of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and encouraged its adoption by Save the Children and other agencies working to make the world a better place for children.

He travelled in India and worked for VSO in Malaysia and Africa recognising the importance of people's participation and the need for sustainable development at village level.

With his team he turned these powerful themes into suitable literature and audio-visual material for schools.

He understood the tension between exploitative child labour and the economic necessity in the family for children to work, and was determined that both sides of the argument should be explained to children in the UK.

He was equally at home organising and presenting conferences: some for schools, some for volunteers and staff, often alongside HRH Princess Anne, Save the Children’s former president and now its patron.

Mr Hutchinson lived his last 11 years with a brain tumour.

However until not long before he died he was able to navigate a wheelchair in Greenwich Park and even a sailing boat on the River Medina at Cowes.

Until the end he retained his love of life, generous spirit, and infectious personality.

He is survived by his wife, Linda, his two stepsons, David and James, and his three grandchildren, Florence, Rufus and Reuben.