Emsworth pub The Blue Bell Inn pours one final pint for 'fantastic' former landlord Thomas Babb as loved ones gather for funeral service

Thomas Michael Babb, aged 74, former landlord at The Blue Bell Inn in Emsworth and The Buccaneer Tavern on Hayling Island, passed away after a heart attack at his home on December 28.

As well as running the South Street pub for more than 12 years from 1994, the much-missed publican was a founding founding member of Emsworth Business Association, raised thousands of pounds for various charities over the years, and was an active member of Havant Rugby Club and Hayling Island Golf Club.

Friends and family gathered at the pub – now run by his son, Giles – to pay their respects to the generous member of the Emsworth community.

A pint was placed on the casket as it lay near the bar the former landlord would proudly stand behind, ‘a fitting tribute’ to a veteran publican, according to Giles.

He said: ‘He was generous to a fault and he always had a smile on his face. He was a hard task master and didn’t stand for any crap – and that’s how I want him remembered.’

Thomas’s other son, Josh, said he and his brother were privileged to have such a ‘fantastic’ father, who ‘always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye’.

Describing the grandfather-of-five, he said: ‘He was a very loving father and a loving grandfather.’

Friends gathered in the pub yesterday ahead of the service echoed the brothers’ sentiments, paying tribute to Thomas’s warmth as friend and skills as a landlord.

Friend for more than 30 years Sean Luck said: ‘He always was a fantastic character – a fantastic publican and always a great friend at the bar.’

The family has asked for any donations in Thomas’s name be made to either the British Heart Foundation, the English Springer Spaniel Welfare, or Havant Rugby Club via Barrells Funeral Directors.

Amid fellow mourners fondly remembering his father, Giles added: ‘He died a happy man.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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