My dad, Denis O’Brien, who has died aged 94 of Covid-19, was a lifelong socialist who loved sharing a beer with friends while discussing the idiosyncrasies of life. He believed passionately that society could be a better, fairer and kinder place. Born in Neston, on the Wirral peninsula, to William, a master tailor, and his wife, Ann (nee Sharman), Denis went to the local council school before starting his working life at Shell-Mex at Thornton in Cheshire, where he trained to be an engineer. He did his national service with the Royal Corps of Signals just after the second world war, and in 1947 was posted to Berlin, where he became skilled in the operation of the undulator, a high-speed radio transmitter. While stationed there he regularly attended the Berlin Philharmonic, developing a passion for music. He was introduced to June Riley by her brother David, who had also been stationed in Berlin. When dad saw a picture of her he told David she was the girl he’d like to marry, but David poo-poohed the idea, replying that his sister “would never look at you”. Nonetheless, when they eventually met, they fell in love, and were married in 1951 at Birkenhead town hall. On leaving the army Denis joined British Rail as a finance and budgeting clerk, where he stayed until his retirement in 1983. He joined the Labour party in 1944, and in later years became secretary of his local branch. He also served as a Labour councillor for Neston urban district council and, later, for Ellesmere Port and Neston borough council. He was chair of the school governors of Deeside special school, as well as being a school governor at a number of local schools. He worked for many years as a volunteer official with the Workers’ Educational Association and in 2013 received an award from the WEA for long and dedicated service. Denis was a great lover of the arts, regularly attending concerts at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, visiting galleries and exhibitions, and going to the theatre. He was a founder member of the Deeside Midweek Ramblers Club and indulged his love of the natural world while walking the lanes and pathways of the English countryside. Many sunny Saturday afternoons were spent as a spectator at Neston cricket club, and he was a regular at Old Trafford to watch Lancashire. Denis read the Guardian from an early age and never touched another paper. In hospital during the last week of his life the consultant and nurses ensured he always had a copy to hand. Committed, caring and principled, he was a loving family man who was well known and liked locally, and often referred to as a true gentleman. He is survived by June, their children, David, Nigel, Jane, Pam, Richard and me, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.