TRIBUTES have been paid to Charles Bolton, a well-known figure in the East Anglian grain trade, who has died at the age of 74 following a battle with cancer.

Mr Bolton, from Mistley, near Manningtree, followed his father Jimmy into the trade by joining local company Brooks in 1953 as a trainee maltster and later became a grain merchant.

The company was taken over by Rank Hovis McDougall in 1962 and by Dalgety in 1983, by which time Mr Bolton was working in Bury St Edmunds on the feed side.

He retired in 1996 and helped the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to administer the feed recall scheme resulting from the BSE crisis.

He was also involved in a number of trade bodies, including spells as regional chairman of the Brewing, Food & Beverage Industry Suppliers Association and the Contracts & Arbitration Committee of the Agricultural Industries Confederation.

Grain merchant Robin Wright of Grainmonitor, based near Woodbridge, said: “All who knew him in the trade as an astute businessman, adviser and friend will miss him very much.”

Mr Bolton is survived by his wife, Barbara, children Sue and James and grandchildren Zoe and Kate. A thanksgiving service will be held on Monday, June 13, at St Mary’s Church, Lawford, at 2pm.