STUART Dewey, a former BBC producer and co-founder of Wallingford Museum, has died aged 65.

Mr Dewey was born in Portsmouth but spent most of his childhood in Dorchester, Dorset, where he was educated at Hardye’s School.

He met his future wife, Judy Stone, at Durham University, where he read English.

They met taking part in a Durham University Theatre production for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with Stuart doing sound and Judy acting.

They received their degrees and got engaged the same week, and were married a year later in Bristol in 1970.

They bought their first house in Cholsey in 1972.

Mr Dewey began his BBC career in London in 1969, and moved into television in 1976, joining as a producer in the presentation department, which was responsible for links and trailers.

He became deputy promotions editor by 1981 and, seven years later, became planning manager for BBC1, working with the controller in the planning and commissioning of future programmes.

His final role in the BBC was as chief assistant in programme planning, responsible for overseeing the scheduling of all major cross-channel events.

This included football World Cups and Royal obituaries, and he was called in at 3am the night Princess Diana died.

At a public meeting in Wallingford in November 1973, held because of concern about the impact of development on archaeology and heritage, Mr and Mrs Dewey were elected as founder chairman and secretary of The Wallingford Historical and Archaeological Society, which still thrives.

Exhibitions were held in the town hall in the 1970s and the couple wrote The Book of Wallingford in 1977.

Wallingford Museum grew out of the need for a place to keep and display objects of the town’s history, and Mr and Mrs Dewey set it up as an independent trust, opening to the public in 1981 at Flint House, in High Street.

Mr Dewey’s artistic vision as director ensured the highest standards of presentation of the town’s history and, with Judy as curator, the team of dedicated volunteers kept it running smoothly for 30 years.

The museum became a charitable company in 2005 when it expanded to take over the whole of Flint House.

Mr and Mrs Dewey launched Pie Powder Press in 1985 to publish local history books. Mr Dewey was also heavily involved with Cholsey activities, editing The Forty magazine, and doing the lighting and sound for local productions for 23 years.

When they were not working, Mr and Mrs Dewey and their two children, Becky, 33, and David, 31, enjoyed holidays on the family narrow-boat. Mr Dewey was also a steam railway enthusiast.

Hi funeral will be held at 2pm on Tuesday, in St Mary’s Church, Cholsey. Mourners are asked to make donations to the museum instead of giving flowers.