Tributes to Alan

The book was made available for members of the public to sign at the town council offices and at Alan's funeral service on November 22.

About 230 people left messages in the book celebrating the life of the man dubbed 'Mr Hailsham', who died at Eastbourne hospital on November 11.

'The response has been simply overwhelming,' said Alan's daughter, Lindsay. 'It has been very emotional reading through all the wonderful entries in the book again.

'Most of them are by people from Hailsham, but there are also some from family in Exeter and Kent. We have also received about 250 letters and cards from all over the place. It has been wonderful.'

Nearly 400 people packed into St Mary's Church for Alan's service. His son Nigel flew over from Australia, and his granddaughter made the trip from Nigeria, where she works.

'The funeral was absolutely stunning,' said Lindsay. 'We called it a celebration of life a thanksgiving. The following Sunday, the Hailsham bell ringers at St Mary's Church performed a 50-minute peal in memory of my father, which was a very touching memorial.'

Silence

At a Hailsham Town Council meeting on Monday, members observed a two-minute silence in honour of Alan, who held his seat on the council right up to his death.

Former councillor Steve Murphy attended the meeting as a member of public and told the council about a taped interview he conducted with Alan Burtenshaw, around the time of the opening of the Hailsham East Community Centre. The tape is now buried in a time capsule, near to the centre.

It was also decided that Alan's seat on the council will remain empty until the next election. Cllr Nick Ellwood said: 'As a mark of respect, I think we should not seek to co-opt a new member in his place. No one can take his place.'