One of the doctors at the James Paget in Gorleston took a photo of the plaque on the wall commemorating the event and showed it to Mr Easter.

It was an emotional moment, as the former councillor, who had been living with dementia for four years, briefly recognised the legacy he had left in the borough.

Mr Easter, who was a member of Great Yarmouth Borough Council for 40 years, has died at the age of 88.

A plaque on a wall at the James Paget hospital commemorating the opening of a ward in 2009.(Image: Supplied)

He was born in Oulton Broad on March 31, 1937. One of five boys, he attended grammar school in Lowestoft - a rarity in those days for a person from his background.

But when family finances allowed only one of the brothers, the eldest, to pursue further education, Mr Easter had to leave school at 16 and take up a printing apprenticeship at Clowes in Beccles.

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