Tributes for former Mayor and businessman who has died aged 91

He was a farmer, abattoir-owner, piemaker, land agent, a district and county councillor and was also Mayor of Melton during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year of 1977.

His coffin will be pulled by a horse-drawn carriage before his funeral, which is at 1.30pm on November 17, at Barkestone-le-Vale Church.

Don’s daughter, Beverley Creasley, told the Melton Times: “At times he was strict. But I had a very good relationship with my father. He always told his children that we could do anything in life.”

Don was born in The General Havelock pub at Annesley Woodhouse, near Nottingham, on September 9, 1932.

His father, John, was a pilot engineer in the First World War who had to drop bombs by hand from his rickety aircraft.

When he was 14, Don met the love of his life, Sylvia, while they waited to catch buses to different schools in Nottingham.

The couple courted for eight years before their wedding in October 1954 in Nottingham and they had four children.

They built their own home for £4,000 at Barkestone-le-Vale, near where they had a smallholding.

Don took over the tenancy of Melton Council’s abattoir, next to the market, and began travelling all over the country buying sheep and then selling the meat after slaughtering them.

In a book about his life, Don wrote: “This was quite a steep learning curve as I had to do at least 50 per cent of the work in the abattoir myself and then go out delivering all the carcasses.

"We were slaughtering mainly pigs and eventually moved on to some sheep and then cattle.”

Don used to supply pork to Tuxford and Tebbutt for their pork pies.

When the company stopped making pies to expand cheese production at their Melton dairy Don bought all their pie-making equipment to set up his own business.

This was a bakery at Asfordby and he wrote in his book: “I did a lot of research into pork pies and after a year of finding our feet we became the biggest seller of pies in Melton Mowbray, making 2,500 a week.”

Unfortunately the premises was badly damaged by fire while the family was on holiday in Cornwall. He reopened it as a successful deep freeze business.

During this time, Don was also serving as a local councillor, firstly on the old Melton Urban District Council and then the new Melton Borough Council.

He was elected as an Independent in Egerton ward in 1966 and served 18 years.

His highlights were visiting Buckingham Palace twice, giving Freedom of the Town to the Royal Army Veterinary Corps and being Mayor in 1977.

He was also a county councillor and governor for several local schools.

Don, who was a talented rugby player in his youth, also ran a successful business as a land agent, Griegs, based at Norman Way.

He was a jockey at the Garthorpe point-to-point meeting and also bred horses at Long Clawson.

He and Sylvia doted on their grandchildren and great-grandchildren before she passed away eight years ago.

Daughter Beverley said the pandemic had an effect on her father, adding: “When Covid hit, it stopped him going out and doing anything. Before that he was out every day.”