The long-awaited reunion of the Defenders of Essex pressure group was cancelled yesterday after the committee's vice-chairman, Peter Smith, unexpectedly passed away.
Many will remember Mr Smith, 79, and the group which fought against plans for an airport at Maplin Sands off Foulness in the late 1960s.
Anglia television, in conjunction with Meridian, was planning to film the get-together before news filtered through that Mr Smith, of Barling House, Barling, had died on Saturday from a heart seizure.
Fun - Peter Smith, with the Paglesham bat, was also a cricket fan
Tributes today poured in for the popular man who worked for many years as a surveyor for Southend council and was once Barling parish council member.
Southend mayor Alan Crystall, who has known Mr Smith for more than 40 years, said would be "sorely" missed.
He said: "Peter was intelligent and hard working with a good sense of fun and humour."
The group's reunion, set to take place at the mayor's official residence at Porters in Southchurch Road, Southend, will now happen at a later date to be arranged.
Published Monday October 21, 2002
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