A former newspaper editor who was recognised with an MBE has died.

John Page, (88), was chief at The Cornishman, in Penzance, for 22 years.

But he was also known for his tireless bat conservation work throughout the south-coast county for which he received the honour in the Queen’s birthday list, in June 2005.

John was born in County Durham in 1919 and moved to Cornwall in 1950 after working on the Bath Chronicle both before and after the war.

He soon become chief reporter at The Cornishman and was handed the editorship in 1962, succeeding Jas L Palmer who was the former editor of the Western Morning News and under whom John had worked at Penzance.

His 22 years in the editor’s chair took in stories such as the Great Storm that destroyed the promenade at Penzance in 1962, the Torrey Canyon oil disaster and the Penlee lifeboat tragedy in 1981.

John saw the circulation rise to record heights and large editions in contrast to the meagre eight and 12 pages of the early post-war years.

After retirement in 1984 he worked for bat conservation and was involved in the formative years of the Bat Conservation Trust.