THE eldest son of the founder of furniture manufacturing company Ercol has died aged 92.

Lucian Ercolani who followed in his father's footsteps and ran the Ercol factory from the mid 1950s until 1994 died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday.

Well known for his technical mind and his development of working out sophisticated ways of manufacturing and assembling furniture Mr Ercolani was described as a “gentleman” who “had a knack for remembering people.”

He lived in Radnage for most of his life and spent his last 18 months in Chiltern Manor: Northern Heights care home in Bourne End.

His nephew, Edward Tadros who is chairman of Ercol which is now based in Princes Risborough, said: “He was very easy to get on with. He had done a lot of things.

“He had met and talked to a lot of people. He had an amazing knack of remembering people.

“He was involved in a lot of things from the war through to the company, to the legion and the local community.”

For the full obituary see Friday's Bucks Free Press.