A FORMER lighthouse keeper, who served at the Nab Tower for seven years, Neville John Peakall, of Gunville Road, Newport, has died, aged 79.
Mr Peakall was born in Broadstairs, Kent, and was the youngest of six children.
After leaving school, he completed an apprenticeship in metal working and became a coppersmith.
He worked in London for a short while but then returned to Kent, enjoying working for Lathens motorcycle shop in Margate, partly because he had the chance to ride the latest bikes and he could ride at Brands Hatch.
He worked for a number of local businesses, including Cromptons slot machines and Pearce signs. He also ran a market stall, selling antiques and collectables.
In 1960, he married Pam and they had two children, Steven and Tina.
It was Pam who found an advertisement for jobs with Trinity House in a newspaper and so he changed his career and became a lighthouse keeper, a job he did from 1970 until 1993, when the lighthouses were being automated.
He served on the Nab Tower for seven years and Sark for 12 years and had a few shorter postings, including The Needles, Beachy Head and Bishop Rock.
After Neville and Pam divorced, he met Jane and they married in 1981 and the couple settled on the IW.
Among his many interests, he enjoyed collecting Dinky toys, records and postcards.
He leaves his wife, children, three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and his first wife.
His funeral will be on Monday at noon at the IW Crematorium, Whippingham.