A former Hounslow church pastor and Boys' Brigade captain, who was honoured for services to the Natural History Museum, has died aged 79.

Philip Fox was a lay pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church, in Staines Road, Hounslow, where he ran bible classes and Sunday School and was secretary for 34 years.

He was also captain of the 7th West Middlesex (later Hounslow) Company of the Boys' Brigade, which he attended as a child, for more than 40 years.

Speaking at his funeral, his son Julian Fox, said: "Throughout his life, whatever Philip was involved in, he would usually end up on the committee or leading the organisation.

"He always believed that if he wanted something done well, it was best to do it himself and with that in mind, he left his family a very detailed plan of how today’s celebration of his life should be."

The grandfather-of-four worked as a civil servant for the Treasury and later the Department of Education and Science, as it was then known.

But it was for services to the Natural History Museum that he was made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 1993, two years after retiring.

It was not just for his work in accounts that he was recognised but for spreading his love of music by forming The Museum Singers, who would perform Christmas carol concerts on the staircase of the attraction's grand entrance hall.

However, his musical apogee came when he appeared on the BBC's Cilla Black Show in the early 70s, fulfilling his dream of playing Sunset on his bugle accompanied by the Royal Marines band.

Mr Fox grew up in Hounslow and it was at Emmanuel Baptist Church there he met his wife-to-be Valerie. They married in 1959 and moved to Feltham briefly before returning to Hounslow, where they raised their three children.

In the two decades after his retirement he conducted more than 1900 funerals, including many at South West Middlesex Crematorium, in Hanworth.

He moved to Scarborough in 2010, seven years after losing Valerie to cancer, and it was there he died on September 6 of pneumonia, three weeks after a nasty fall.

Mr Fox's funeral took place in Scarborough on September 16. A memorial service is due to be held at Emmanuel Baptist Church on a date yet to be arranged.