A FORMER mayor who stood guard on the route of King George VI's funeral procession has died.
Grandfather-of-three John Chiles lost his battle with cancer on Sunday, aged 92.
Paying tribute to him, his children spoke of how proud they were of their father who "spent his whole life fighting for good causes".
A soldier in India during the Second World War, Mr Chiles then served in the Territorial Army, where he attained the rank of Major and was one of the servicemen to line the streets at King George VI's funeral.
On his return to civilian life he fought for numerous good causes in the community, helping save the Reigate branch of the Surrey Beekeepers, the Banstead & District Branch of the Royal British Legion and the Surrey County Agricultural Society.
Mr Chiles also found time to serve as a borough councillor for the Tadworth and Walton-on-the-Hill ward, becoming mayor of the borough in 1996/7.
His daughter Prue Chiles said: "He stood up for people, that's what made him tick. I am very proud of him.
"He really wanted to serve the community. He was very proud to be mayor and to be a councillor, he always stood up for what he believed in.
"We spoke to the vicar recently and he said dad complained about a number of things but he always enjoyed the arguments because dad would follow it through and always be fair about it.
"He never went behind anyone's back, he would stand up for what he thought was right. He had a great sense of fair play which I hope he has instilled in us."
Mr Chiles's wife of 61 years, Pam, told the Mirror: "I am very proud of my husband. He was a very busy man, always doing something, and he was always very successful."
She smiled: "Though we were always very busy we always had time to stop and have a photo taken."
The couple lived in Cross Road, Tadworth, and had two children and three grandchildren, Tim, Joseph and Tomas.
During the war Mr Chiles served with Probyn's Horse, an Indian armed cavalry regiment – which is now the 5th Horse armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army.
He was involved with training the soldiers as the regiment moved from being cavalry troopers to tank soldiers, and was the only original officer in his squadron who was not injured or killed in the war. After the war he maintained strong links with the regiment and his children speak with pride of how he "almost single-handedly" campaigned to get government pensions for the families of those he fought alongside.
His son Robin said: "During the war father learned to speak Urdu because his troops spoke it and it seemed like the right thing to do.
"He spoke Urdu to one of the doctors in the hospital two days before he died. Dad mentioned that he spoke it and the next moment they were chatting away."
