A hugely respected conservationist and former firefighter has died.

Bryn Cornwell passed away at his home in Stockett Lane, Maidstone, on Monday, February 10, at the age of 80.

Born in Hounslow and brought up in Catford, Mr Cornwell may have been a townie by heritage, but having moved to Kent, he threw himself into caring for the local countryside with a passion.

Mr Cornwell had been a founding member of the Valley Conservation Society, an executive committee member of the Loose Amenities Association and was also one of the first trustees of the Hayle Park Nature Reserve.

One of four children for Mary and Ernest Cornwell, he was educated at the first mixed comprehensive school in Catford. Leaving school at 16, he took a job at the Piccadilly Hotel in London with a view to getting training that might help him become an airline steward.

However, after a visit to the docks, and almost on a whim, he changed direction and signed on to become a merchant seaman.

There followed a seven-year period in which he toured the world with both passenger and freight ships, working for companies such as Cunard and Blue Star.

On one occasion, in 1967, he was on board the New Zealand Star (2) cargo ship on its maiden voyage when the vessel got stuck in Liverpool Docks for six weeks because of a strike by the dockyard mateys.

The delay proved fortuitous as it was there that he met Freda Dry, the 17-year-old girl who was to become his wife, as they waited outside a fish and chip shop.

Young Freda had been warned by her mother about dalliances with seafarers, and so refused to step out with him until he had shown her his mother’s name recorded as next of kin on his passport - thus proving he wasn’t already married.

They married two years later, on February 22, 1969, and set up home in a flat in Catford.

Mr Cornwell left the ships, unilaterally announcing that it was not a job for a married man, and worked variously as a garage forecourt attendant, painter and decorator, and long-distance lorry driver, until he found his new niche - joining the London Fire Brigade (LFB) in December 1971.

He worked at various fire stations across London: Brixton (twice), Clapham and Lambeth among them, and he was even able to again employ his nautical skills, working as commander of The Phoenix, the brigade’s fire boat on the Thames. He ended his career as Station Officer at New Addington.

In February 1975, he was among the emergency crews who responded to the Moorgate tube disaster in which 43 people died and 74 were injured after the tube failed to stop at the station terminus.

He described recovering the bodies of the dead and injured from the wreckage as the worst experience of his time in the service.

On a happier occasion, he was able to rescue an unconscious woman from a burning building.

For some reason, the ambulance was delayed and Mr Cornwell first revived the victim using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and then kept her breathing for the 30 minutes it took the ambulance to arrive.

The woman made a full recovery, and Mr Cornwell was given an award by the Royal Humane Society for saving her life.

Mr Cornwell also became the trades union representative for the LFB’s B Division, and in November 1977 led his men out on the first-ever national strike by the Fire Brigades’ Union.

The strike lasted nine weeks, and the Cornwell family, which by then also included son Gary, aged eight, and daughter Sharon, four, spent Christmas Day together on the picket line.

Freda Cornwell said: “People always assumed that Bryn was political. He wasn’t. For him, it was all about looking after his men.”

Mr Cornwell retired in 1999, after 28 years’ service.

At home, he joined the Loose Amenities Association (LAA), which owns and cares for some land in the Upper Loose Valley. He became an executive committee member and worked closely with Roy Hood, the LAA founder, whom he greatly admired.

However, with two men each with strong personalities, there were inevitable clashes of opinion and when in the year 2000 residents at the lower (Tovil) end of the Loose Valley decided to set up their own group, the Valley Conservation Society, Mr Cornwell was among the 12 founding signatories.

Within two years, he had become the group’s chairman, and he was re-elected by members to the post each year thereafter until his death.

He guided the society’s policy of buying land in the Loose Valley, to protect it from development and to open it to the public.

He also led the weekly volunteer work parties to maintain that land.

During that time, the Valley Conservation Society (VCS) engaged in a hard-fought battle with developers Taylor Wimpey over their plans to build a new estate at Hayle Park, on the edge of the Loose Valley Conservation Area.

The estate went ahead, but 12 hectares of countryside was assigned jointly to Maidstone council, Tovil Parish Council and the Valley Conservation Society, to form the Hayle Park Nature Reserve.

Mr Cornwell was one of the original nine trustees.

The VCS secretary, Alan Smith, said: “Bryn was never really off duty.”

“Everyone in the Valley knew Bryn and if someone saw a bough blown off a tree, or a barbecue fire started in the woods, or a duck caught in fishing line, or a mill pond drying up, they would phone Bryn and he would be off immediately to sort it out.”

Mr Cornwell was also devoted to his family.

Freda Cornwell, his wife for almost 56 years, described him as “loving, kind, supportive, honest and reliable.”

She added: “He was always concerned with doing the right thing.”

Paul Wilby, the chairman of Tovil Parish Council, said: “Bryn’s commitment to conservation and his passion for the Loose Valley were unparalleled.”

“The contribution he made to improving the parish of Tovil was enormous and he will be sorely missed.”

Mr Cornwell was diagnosed on January 24 with mesothelioma - an asbestos-related industrial disease that he almost certainly contracted during his career with the London Fire Brigade.

A service will be held at Vinters Park Crematorium, in Bearsted Road, Maidstone, ME14 5LG, on Thursday, March 13, at 2pm.

Family flowers only, but donations in Mr Cornwell’s memory can be made to Hasag Asbestos Disease Support, via this JustGiving link.

Mr Cornwell is survived by his wife Freda, son Gary, daughter Sharon, and four grandchildren Luke, Emily, Amy and Harry.