A man who dedicated his life to his family and music has died aged 95.

Paul Neville was a retired Lt Col with the Royal Marines near Deal and his life with them, and contribution to the community, is being remembered following his death.

Having been born on October 24, 1928, he grew up in north London, before later moving to Deal.

He joined the Royal Marines in 1943 and had a 36-year career with them, ending up as a Lt Col.

He was the organisation’s Principal Director of Music from October 1968 to October 1978, a role he loved.

His daughter Debbie Royle, told KentOnline: “We had a happy family life, with two loving parents.

“We moved around a lot because of his job, but always felt like Deal was home. We were very fond of it.

“Dad loved his job; it was a fantastic achievement.”

Mr Neville was very keen on sport and often played football during his time with the Royal Marines.

When terrorists killed 11 bandsmen in 1989, Mr Neville harnessed his own talents to help in the aftermath.

He co-organised and conducted fundraising concerts to help the victims’ families after the bombing – which was planted by the IRA – , raising tens of thousands of pounds for them over the next 18 years.

Mr Neville retired as musical director at the King’s School in Canterbury and so had time to join work on the fundraising concerts.

A group called the All Stars Band, made up of former Royal Marines, was specially set up by Mr Neville and ex-Marines bandsman Joe Forbes. Their first concert was in 1990, originally meant as a one-off fundraiser.

But these became annual events, every March at the Winter Gardens in Margate. They raised £4,000 a year for victims’ families through the charity the Royal Marines Band Benevolent Fund.

The concerts raised £145,000 by 2007 - £62,000 of which was for victims’ families.

The remaining money went to other causes such as the Kent Air Ambulance Trust, Canterbury Prostate Cancer Support Group and the Deal Memorial Bandstand Trust, which was also created after the bombing,

The concerts continued after Mr Neville retired as conductor at the age of 80, and in 2008 he and his wife Ann moved to Cheshire to be near family.

Mr Neville died on February 27 and his funeral will be held on Tuesday in Wales.

As well as his two daughters, he also leaves six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His wife Ann died in 2017.

Mrs Royle added: “Dad loved music and was dedicated to his work and it could be very intense.

“But otherwise he loved to relax with his family. He was overall a relaxed and cheerful person and very family-orientated, just like mum.”