A LOVING son has paid heartfelt tribute to his kindly father who proudly ran a post office for more than 25 years.

The St Osyth Road corner shop and Post Office, in Clacton, was run by four generations of the Saltmarsh family.

For more than a century the shop and its owners went “above and beyond” when helping customers.

Ronald Saltmarsh, who has passed away at the age of 87, took over the running of the post office after his grandfather started the store in 1890.

After taking over in 1965, he ran the store successfully until 1995, when he was succeeded by his son Graham.

The post office finally closed in 2004.

His other son Neil said reading through the dozens of sympathy cards and messages drove home how loved his father truly was.

“People would say they never saw him in a bad mood or angry,” he said. “He was very conscientious and utterly dedicated to his work.

“He would go the extra mile - signing people’s passports as a countersignatory.

“I remember he used to go out and deliver meals on wheels for the elderly on Christmas Day.”

As a child, Ron was one of the child evacuees to leave Clacton by train in 1939.

He and his older sister Jean were taken in by the vicar at a village called Rock, near Kidderminster.

When Ron retired, he moved with wife Jan to The Anchorage flats in Clacton.

He was a founding member of the Clacton Round Table, a club which helps men between the ages of 18 and 45 socialise.

He leaves behind his wife and three sons, Edward, Graham and Neil.