VETERAN Ferndown milkman and dairy owner John Bolton died peacefully on February 7, aged 89.

Born in Bath in 1924, Mr Bolton and his family moved to Ferndown when he was just six months old, and he later attended Ferndown School.

He began delivering milk for his father when he was just a schoolboy, for what was then AH Manor Dairies, and when he turned 18 years old he was called up for national service and joined the Navy as a mechanic.

After several years serving his country, including repairing landing craft in Singapore, Mr Bolton left the Navy and returned home to Ferndown. He spent the next few years working as a mechanic until he rejoined the family business.

He married his first love Phyllis Pickles on May 5, 1945, at St John’s Church in Wimborne. The pair met in Ferndown back when the girls from Wimborne would cycle there to meet the boys.

As soon as he set eyes on her he told his best friend “I’m going to marry that girl”. They were married for 67 years, but Mrs Bolton sadly died last year a few days before Christmas.

In the early 1960s, Mr Bolton and his brother Henry took over their father's business and renamed it Bolton’s Dairy.

The dairy was at the heart of Ferndown life for more than 40 years, and he was well known by many of the locals, always seen with a trilby hat on whilst smoking a pipe.

With a smile on his face, he always took the time to talk to his customers.

He would be out on his round every day of the year except Christmas Day, and it is estimated that he delivered more than 10million pints of milk throughout his life.

Mr Bolton unwillingly retired at the age of 76 and lost his brother Henry the year after. He had dedicated much of his life to the dairy but he also enjoyed gardening and growing vegetables, and served as president of the Ferndown Chamber of Trade, which had been co-founded by his father.

Renamed B & B Dairies and relocated to Ringwood, the family business continues to thrive, run by Mr Bolton’s son Ken and his two business partners.

Mr Bolton leaves his four children, Barbara, Kenneth, Wendy and Malcolm, as well as 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.