THE founder of the Imperial Charity in Trowbridge died on December 17 aged 82.

Born in Stockport on November 12 1937, David McCance was the only child of Ada and Percy McCance.

David attended the Mosley Road School from the age of six until he was 15, when he left to work as a painter and decorator with his father.

He also worked for a Manchester brewery for a short time before starting work with GUS group as an assistant accountant, as well as for Eric Morley’s Mecca leisure group.

David then went on to do the publicity and marketing as well as finding and booking acts for the shows, gaining awards and personal recognition.

He also worked for the Ritz Ballroom where he put on acts and dealt with the publicity and was later invited to meet Eric Morley in London for a job interview.

At that time, Mr Morley was the British TV host for the Come Dancing TV programme and managing director for the Miss World pageant.

Mr Morley asked David to be his right-hand man in London and even offered to double his pay, but David’s family didn’t want to move south. He reluctantly decided to stay in Manchester and left his role at Mecca to become a car salesman.

David’s first marriage ended when his wife died but in 1978 he met Marilyn Oram, the love of his life.

In 1983 their son Shaun was born, to be joined in 1986 by their daughter Ella, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. Ella had to have major heart surgery at the age of four.

David decided to dedicate his life to fundraising, starting with a simple jumble sale for the Stepping Stones in Trowbridge that his daughter Ella attended.

When he retired, his last task was to present Stepping Stones with a cheque to help provide important play facilities and activities for the special needs pre-school.Later, Mr McCance co-founded the Imperial Charity with his friend, the late John Loftus, who ran the John Loftus Property Centre in Warminster.

The charity raised thousands of pounds to help many people by staging the three-day Wessex Air Shows, where David arranged for fly pasts and bands to take part.

The charity grew and Mr McCance moving it to Westbury, opening a furniture shop and two other shops to help raise funds for shows and outings for the local community.The charity also provided grants for special needs schools and entertainment in nursing homes for those who couldn’t get out to go to the shows.

Before he retired, Mr McCance organised a big show in Trowbridge Centre for the charity’s 25th anniversary where the special guests included The Bachelors and his best friend and star of the 60s Craig Douglas.

The Imperial Charity has helped thousands of people over the years and leaves a massive legacy by which he is remembered.

In 2002, David McCance started helping Starry Eyes, a local performance group, to showcase the talents of younger and older performers.

David used his mini-bus to transport them all around the country so they could perform in different areas and venues.

Starry Eyes helped the disadvantaged and hard to reach children as well as putting on community shows.

David helped up and coming artists showcase their local talent in his own shows as well as helping to promote them in others.

Sally Boyle, of Starry Eyes, said: “Without him we could never have achieved half the things we did. I will miss him greatly.”

David will be missed by his partner Marilyn and their two children Shaun and Ella, as well as his three older children Brian, Susan, and Sarah.

His funeral is at the West Wiltshire Crematorium, Semington, at 2.30pm on January 14. Mourners have been asked to wear bright colours.