A FORMER Bradford College lecturer, magistrate and president of the city’s Twin Towns Association has died, aged 95.

Glyn Roberts lived in Bradford for nearly 60 years and, says his daughter Yasmi, was “happy to call it home”.

He was born near Monmouth and was a Bevin Boy in the Second World War, working in a coal mine, before joining the Intelligence Service. After the war he worked for the Government in Germany and became fluent in German - a valuable skill when he was later president of Bradford Twin Towns Association.

Mr Roberts, who graduated from London School of Economics, came to Bradford in 1962 and was an economics and business lecturer at Bradford Technical College until retiring in the mid-1980s. In 2007 he was presented with the Telegraph & Argus Twin Towns Trophy for promoting twinning visits between Bradford and cities in France, Belgium and Germany. “People came to stay from places like Mönchengladbach and my parents used to take them to the Dales and York. They made good friends with them,” said Yasmi.

Mr Roberts and his wife Muriel, who was from a neighbouring Welsh village, belonged to Bradford St David’s Society. “They organised social and fundraising events and St David’s Day celebrations in City Hall,” said Yasmi. “My father spoke German and French but, although he went to lessons, the Welsh language defeated him.”

Mr Roberts, of Heaton, wrote a book about Bradford’s Welsh community and in 2000 travelled to Patagonia to visit a Welsh-speaking settlement. He took poetry, music and craftwork from Bradford’s Welsh society and told the T&A: “No-one has been over before from Bradford, I’m looking forward to being the first.”

In 1974 Mr Roberts stood twice as the Liberal candidate for Shipley and he was a Bradford magistrate for over 20 years. In the 1990s he became involved with the Sherdil Group, founded by businessman Mohammed Sheikh to foster understanding between ethnic groups in Bradford. Mr Roberts also attended Haworth Road Methodist Church and was in the choir.

He and his late wife Muriel had six children, Owain, Anton, Yasmi, Sarah, Sharon and Rachel, 11 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. Said Yasmi: “He made a real contribution to local communities through his involvement in many groups. These were sociable societies that people enjoyed, and gave them chance to travel and learn things. He and my mother travelled a lot to countries such as China, Australia and America, and when he was 80 he did an MA at Bradford University.”

Mr Roberts’ funeral will take place at Nab Wood Crematorium.