A FORMER pupil of a Colchester teacher who died in a house fire has written a poem in his memory.

The tribute was placed among flowers, cards and poems at the gates of Maydays, in Land Lane.

Francis Carter, known as Frank, lived for many years in the house with his 94-year-old mother, Emilie.

Their 19th-century home was destroyed in a fire last week, and is believed to have claimed the lives of the Carters.

Mr Carter, thought to be in his seventies, has not been seen since the lunchtime before the fire broke out.

It took fire crews and the Urban Search and Rescue Team about 12 hours to put out the fire and make the house safe enough for search teams to enter.

Sniffer dogs were sent from Surrey to search the ruins of the house.

Two bodies were eventually recovered.

They have yet to be formally identified, but are believed to be those of Mrs Carter and her son. Mr Carter was a much-loved and respected English teacher at the Gilberd School, Colchester, for almost three decades, and former pupils have paid emotional tributes to him.

To Mr Carter, my teacher, my friend...once met, never forgotten by Julie Bruce (Oakes)

There’s a place,

I once knew

that was lost in time,

Where flowers once grew,

A Garden divine

The intrigue and mystery

Of what lay behind,

Those wrought-iron gates,

Often played on my mind

From a child, and beyond

A significant part,

It has played in my life

And now in my heart

There’s a man,

I once knew

A true gentleman,

Of which there are few

Always a smile, and a hello,

A kind comment, on how

My lovely children have grown.

I cannot find the words

Unable to explain,

The sadness and the pain

To see your beautiful house today,

And know we will never

Say hello again.