A FOUNDING member of Wimborne Rugby Club and Second World War glider pilot, Maurice Herridge died on May 10, aged 92.

Mr Herridge was widely respected in the rugby community in Wimborne and far beyond for his commitment to the club and the sport, and was appointed a Life Member of the club.

He was among the group of Old Wimbornians who gathered in 1950 to establish the club, following a meeting in the Griffin Hotel. He served on the committee as treasurer, while also playing as talented hooker for many years - famous for his goal-kicking.

He was captain of the 1st team in the 1950s, and went on to be club president in the 70s.

He was regarded by fellow club members as a very positive and encouraging colleague who made a particular effort to support and enthuse the younger players in the colt teams, who in turn held him in high esteem.

He and the early founders set up the club on a firm financial footing from which it has benefited to the present day, and he had the pleasure of watching it develop from a single team of friends to the several hundred members it has today.

Mr Herridge was born in Wimborne in 1923 and he attended Wimborne Grammar School where he first developed his love of rugby. He lived in the town all his life and was sometimes known to friends as 'the Minster Man'.

Aged 17, he joined the Hampshire Regiment during the Second World War, and he later trained as a Horsa glider pilot in the Army Air Corps, serving as a staff sergeant in A Squadron.

He took part in the Operation Mallard landings in Normandy on D-Day, and was one of the first pilots to land in Holland during Operation Market Garden, landing near Nijmegen.

Speaking to the Daily Echo in 1995, he recalled the atmosphere in the hours leading up to D-Day as "electric". He said he was able to land amid the German anti-glider defences as they had "methodically" planted them in straight lines.

During training in Dorset in 1944 he had crashed a glider in a strawberry field in Kinson, and while there were fortunately no injuries the aircraft was seriously damaged, an incident remembered by some older residents.

After the war he worked as an accountant with Flight Refuelling.

As well as rugby, Mr Herridge founded the Wimborne RFC Golf Society and was a regular competitor.

He leaves his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at St John's Church in Wimborne on Tuesday, May 26, from 2pm.