A FORMER Salisbury mayor and freeman of the city has died, aged 88. Gilbert Thomas Burden lived in the city and served the community throughout his life.

He was elected as a Labour councillor to represent the Bemerton Heath ward in the 1950s and served on Salisbury District Council for 30 years, during which time he was chairman of town planning. He was also a school governor at Westwood St Thomas and Chafyn Grove schools for a number for years.

Mr Burden was mayor of Salisbury from 1971-2 and during his term in office he twinned the city with Salisbury in Maryland.

In 1973, Mr Burden was made an honorary freeman of Salisbury, an award he was particularly proud of.

He also served as a magistrate and he was awarded the Imperial Service Medal for his work. Mr Burden was born in Salisbury on April 2, 1925, and attended St Mark's Junior and Bishop Wordsworth's schools, where was a keen sportsman and member of both the football and rugby teams.

He left school at the age of 16 to become an apprentice engineer for the Post Office and during the Second World War he maintained army, navy and RAF teleprinters and other communications equipment.

He was also in the Home Guard. He remained with the company, now British Telecom, until he retired in 1990, after 50 years of service. Mr Burden married Vera Slocombe on June 12, 1948, and the couple had two daughters, Jane and Tish.

As well as his family and community involvement, Mr Burden's great passions were politics, rugby and dancing. He died at Salisbury District Hospital on Saturday and he is survived by his wife, daughters, and four granddaughters, Nikki, Claire, Iona and Isla.