A PASSIONATE librarian, lecturer and former Wyre Forest district councillor has died, aged 71, following a long battle with cancer.

Trevor Haywood, who was born in Kidderminster, died in the early hours of the morning on bank holiday Monday at Mary Stevens Hospice, in Stourbridge. He leaves behind wife Susan, daughter Tracy and sister Christine.

Susan said: “He will be sorely missed and very well remembered by everyone lucky enough to know and love him. He was a well-known character and a lot of local people will have known him. He was a larger-than-life character and he touched many people’s lives.”

Mr Haywood was born in 1943, to parents who both worked in the carpet industry. He attended Harry Cheshire School for Boys and his first job was at Parsons Chain in Stourport.

A love of books took him to a job at Kidderminster Library, from where he studied for a diploma in librarianship at Birmingham College of Commerce.

That kicked off a long career in libraries and the education of new generations of librarians as a tutor. He also finished an Open University honours degree in 1976.

His interest in librarianship moved into information science and technology and Mr Haywood was said to have embraced the changes enthusiastically and was ahead of the curve. In 1971 he had moved to the newly formed Birmingham Polytechnic as a senior lecturer in management in the school of information studies.

He was made professor in computing and information studies and ended his academic career as a dean of faculty at the University of Central England, which is now Birmingham City University.

Mr Haywood combined a demanding career with interests including walking, photography, writing, Shakespeare, history and travelling. He was a member of the Labour Party and served as a Wyre Forest district councillor between 1974 and 1979. He was also leader of the Labour group on the council for several years.

On his retirement, he spent much time with Mrs Haywood in an isolated homestead in the hills of the Algarve, in Portugal – a spot he had discovered when he was younger. He also developed a love of cruise liners and the couple travelled more widely.

He even became popular as an on-board lecturer. But as the illness took hold, Mr Haywood had to say goodbye to cruises and friends in the Algarve hills. Despite discomfort, just weeks before his death he completed a revision of his book about British monarchs – Flesh and Bone – following the discovery of the remains of his favourite monarch, Richard III.