John Mandle, one of the engineers who worked on the design of the legendary Morris Minor, has died aged 80.

Born in South Shields, County Durham, in April 1928, he was the only child of Stephen and Mary Mandle.

On his first day at South Shields Grammar School in 1939 the order was given to evacuate children due to the start of the Second World War.

Mr Mandle spent the war years living in the Lake District.

Returning home in 1945, he completed his education and began an apprenticeship as an engineer.

On completion of his app-renticeship in 1950, he moved to Oxford to join Pressed Steel in Cowley as a draughtsman designing body parts for cars. He worked on several models, including panel designs for the Morris Minor.

He was also a keen rugby player and helped to set up the Oxford Marathon Rugby Club, in Horspath, in the early 1950s.

In 1954 he met his future wife Ruth Paproth, a Ger-man nurse who was working at the Osler Pavilion, in Cowley Road, which specialised in treating people with tuberculosis.

The couple were married within 10 months and went on to have three children Pauline, Raymond and Janey.

In 1962, Mr Mandle graduated from Henley Manage-ment College and became the senior purchasing executive in charge of buying steel for Pressed Steel, a job which took him around the world to places such as India, Brazil and Sweden.

Away from work, Mr Mandle served as chairman of the parent teacher association and as a governor of Holton Park Girls’ Gramm-ar School, which became Wheatley Park School, in the 1960s and 1970s.

After his retirement from what was the Rover Group in 1989, Mr Mandle went on to become a director of Oxford Educational Supp-lies, in Bicester, which was founded by his youngest daughter, Janey Poole.

She said: “He was great, because he had so many skills he had picked up as a buyer that he brought to the business.”

In 1992 Mr Mandle was made a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Pur-chasing and Supply.

When he was not working, Mr Mandle enjoyed supporting the achievements of his four grandchildren, Adam, Sophie, Hope and Harry.

Mrs Poole said: “He would look at their school calendars and the first thing he would do was write all the engagements into his diary.

“He wouldn’t miss a rugby or cricket fixture at Mag-dalen College School in Oxford, proudly cheering for his youngest grandson and always managed to seat himself in front row for each of their school plays and musical performances.”

In 2003, Mr Mandle retired from Oxford Educational Supplies and he and his wife moved from Horspath to Adderbury, near Banbury.

Mr Mandle became active in the community, serving as a parochial church councillor for St Mary’s Church.

A keen war historian, he was a member of the Western Front Association and campaigned for the restoration of the war memorial in Fritwell.

Mr Mandle died at The Horton Hospital in Banbury on October 30, after a bout of pneumonia.

Mrs Poole said: “He was the kindest, funniest, most loving person you could ever wish to meet.”

He is survived by his widow, his children and his grandchildren.