HENRY Irving’s official title at the Pressed Steel car body factory at Cowley was a jig and maintenance engineer.

But to many workers at the plant, he was much more than that.

He was a volunteer with St John Ambulance and was often called, on and off duty, to treat colleagues who had suffered injury.

His daughter, Janet Simons, recalls: “Often, workers with little bits of metal in their eyes would call at our home in Dene Road, Headington.”

Mr Irving joined St John when he lived at Aylesbury and continued with the movement when he arrived in Oxford with his wife Connie to work at Pressed Steel.

He was particularly proud of the part he played in saving the life of a toddler who fell into a hot bath in a house opposite his own.

He ran across the road and thanks to his quick action, the boy soon recovered and suffered no long-term effects.

Mr Irving – known to his workmates as Harry – attended many events with his St John Ambulance colleagues, including Oxford speedway matches at Oxford Stadium at Cowley and shows at the New Theatre.

On one occasion at the theatre he was called to treat a glamorous showgirl, who had a big boil under her arm, making it difficult for her to dance.

Mrs Simons, who lives at Tackley, tells me: “To reach her, he had to go through the theatre dressing rooms, past girls in a state of undress. My mother and I were at the show and when he came back, he said: ‘You’ll never believe where I’ve been!’”