A captain who spent more than 25 years working with the Oxford Army Cadet Force has died at the age of 86.

Great-grandfather Kenneth Hill, also known as Ken, died on July 14 after a short illness. Captain Hill completed more than 25 years with the Oxford Army Cadet Force (ACF) and also received two Lord Lieutenant’s Certificates for his service.

One of his biggest passions was ballroom dancing. He won many bronze and silver certificates while attending Brett’s School of Ballroom Dancing in Oxford city centre.

Capt Hill was born in Hythe Bridge Street on January 2, 1929, to Alfred and Ivy Primrose Hill, nee Gardiner.

His father Alfred worked for the Oxford colleges and his mother as a servant in North Oxford.

The family – he had three brothers and a sister – moved around fairly regularly at the start of their lives including Observatory Street, Boars Hill and Jericho between 1932 and 1938.

During this time, he attended St Phillip and St James Church School and Yarnton School.

In 1939, the Hill family moved to an almost new house on Cutteslowe estate.

Capt Hill worked while he was a boy, becoming a paperboy aged 12, working Saturdays in a Summertown chemist’s washing bottles and doing a milk round aged 13.

He was one of the top pupils of his class but left school before his 14th birthday and started full-time work. After a couple of short-term jobs he began work at furniture company Minty’s and while there he enrolled in the Army Cadet Force at Elsfield Way.

In 1947, aged 18, he was called up for National Service. He was told to report to Slade Camp, an extension of Cowley Barracks at the time.

He finished his National Service two years later and regretted not being able to continue in the Army.

With an invalid father, his mother needed him home to help. It was about this time that Captain Hill began ballroom dancing, which soon became one of his biggest passions.

At the age of 25, he began work as a general factory worker in the stores at the Cowley car plant but also concentrated on his dancing, where he met his wife Una.

They ended up living in Headington Quarry. By 1967 they had three sons – James, Stephen and Brian.

In 1969, his friend John Tolley encouraged him to go along to the Army Cadets one night and he joined soon afterwards.

In October, Captain Hill was appointed as a sergeant instructor and posted to the Slade Detachment, where he remained for the whole of his ACF career.

Captain Hill was granted Territorial Army Commission in February 1978, following his appointment as detachment commander.

He also completed advanced youth leadership and youth counselling courses.

In December 1980, he received the Cadet Force Medal and seven years later was awarded the Lord Lieutenant’s Certificate for outstanding service to the ACF.

He was also awarded another certificate a later date.

In 1991, he was promoted to rank of captain in the ACF, after 22 years of service.

He retired from the ACF on his birthday in 1994 and received a large framed print of an 18th century soldier, signed by every member of the detachment.

In 1991, he left full-time work at the age of 62 to look after Una, whose condition – she had myotonic dystrophy – was becoming worse.

Mrs Hill’s consultant told her sons that had their father not looked after her in the way he had, she would have died two years sooner than she did, in January 2000.

Capt Hill is survived by his sons James, Stephen and Brian, five granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.

Capt Hill’s funeral service was held yesterday at Wolvercote Cemetery, followed by a wake at The Plough Inn in Wolvercote.