FRIENDS and family have paid tribute to Colchester’s oldest man, who has died.

Robin Dunn, who turned 107 in June, died in Colchester General Hospital after falling ill at his home in Layer Road.

Mr Dunn, a former Army major, is believed to have been the eighth oldest man in the UK and the second oldest in Essex.

His son, Colin, 76, flew back to England from Zambia when he heard the news.

He said: “Dad will always be remembered as a great man and a gentleman.

“Until the day he died, he was always a real ladies’ man and he would even stand up when a woman came into the room – I think that was the Army man in him.”

Mr Dunn, who was head of the military corrective unit for the Army during the Second World War, also served in China, Egypt and in Sarafand, in Palestine.

His son said: “I think Dad had a busy time between 1939 and 1945 because, as more soldiers entered the Army, the more naughty ones entered.”

When his father returned to civilian life in 1956, he helped to build Birch Grove golf course, off Layer Road.

He was a regular at the North Countrymen’s Club, in Church Street, Colchester, attending the club every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, drinking brandy and double gin and tonics.

Tanya Paul, who runs the club, said: “He will be missed here.

“He was such a character, a real ladies’ man, and he won’t be forgotten.”

Mr Dunn, a great grandfather, died on August 13, in Peldon ward at Colchester General Hospital.

He had been cared for by members of the same team who helped him recover after he became one of the oldest people to have a pacemaker fitted last year.