A PROMINENT local historian and photographer has died at the age of 85.

Robert ‘Bob’ Brown was a stalwart of Basingstoke for many years, and spent his whole adult life chronicling the town’s past and changes over the years.

Robert’s interest in the history of the town was sparked when he was working as a shop assistant in Market Place’s WH Smith store when he was 16-years-old.

A customer came in looking for a book on the town’s history, and Robert informed him that, at that time, no such book had been published.

The annoyed customer then told young Robert, “Then you had better get one written!”

Little did that customer know that over the course of his life, Robert would not write one, but eight different books on the subject of history Basingstoke's changing history, with the first written in 1980.

He also wrote about the town’s history in columns for publications like the Gazette and several others in the area.

He then started to pick up a camera, going out and about and taking pictures of just about anything he could, from local events such as carnivals to new buildings in the area.

Having lived his whole life in Basingstoke, he kept countless files with pictures of the area, showing how much it had changed.

Robert’s daughter Claire Wilson said: “He was interviewed several different times over his life for radio and TV on the history of Basingstoke, including about 15 years ago, Chris Tarrant came to speak to him about the town’s history.

“People would call him and ask if he had a photo of a place in Basingstoke from any particular time and he’d usually have one and supply one free of charge.

“Once he retired, he could really indulge his passion for local photography.”

Over the course of the years, Robert worked at several different jobs, starting in WH Smith, which was then followed by two years in the RAF as a part of his national service, and then afterwards, he became a postman in Tadley.

He then joined the photographic department at Boots.

His last job was working in the print room for Pearsons Estate agents, now Prudential.

Claire added: “He just loved the area, and has left a legacy in the books that he wrote.

“He was very studious, and had hundreds of books, and was very helpful if I ever needed help with my homework. There was always a book somewhere that had the answer.

“He really liked meeting people, and would go to schools and care homes to speak about the area’s history.”

He is survived by daughter Claire and his wife Lana.

Mr Brown died on March 25.