Tributes to "loyal and faithful" county councillor who began stream of Lib Dem success

Mr Beale died on March 15, aged 91, at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading.
Family, friends, and colleagues from both his teaching and political careers headed to the West Berkshire Crematorium to pay their respects.
Mr Beale moved to Newbury in 1956 to pursue a teaching career at what was then St Bartholomew’s Grammar School, after graduating from New College, Oxford University, where he studied German and French.
He was also Contingent Commander of St Bartholomew’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF) when it made history as the first state school to enrol girls into the cadet force.
Following his retirement in the late 1980s, Mr Beale was elected as a Liberal Democrat district councillor for Falkland ward and later represented Newbury at Berkshire County Council.
In 1991 he was appointed as the mayor of Newbury, accompanied by his wife Astri.
His son, Stephen Beale, said: “He was always very enthusiastic about things and he was able to encourage enthusiasm in other people and get them interested in the things he was interested in.
“He was interested in so many different things and right up to the last few months...local politics and teaching, he had old vintage cars, he was a linguist.”
Among his political colleagues was former Newbury MP David Rendel, who said: “He was a great supporter of the Liberal Democrats.
“He was a very loyal and faithful member of ours for a long time and I owe him a lot.
“His by-election for the county council was the start of the use of new campaigning ideals and techniques which we hadn’t yet used in West Berkshire.
“He managed to win his by-election and it started a long, long run of success which culminated in winning the Newbury parliamentary seat some years later.
“He became an outstanding county councillor, he was loyal and faithful not just to my party but also the people of West Berkshire.”
His daughter, Inga Beale, was also recently appointed as the first female chief executive of Lloyd’s of London in its 325 year history.