A MUCH-loved veteran of the Swindon jazz scene has died.

Trumpeter John Cole, who was 78, had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

For many years he was a member of the Southern Syncopators, a traditional jazz band who had fans as far afield as the USA.

He also worked in the Swindon Advertiser’s advertising department for nearly 30 years, eventually becoming advertising manager.

He lived in Swindon until his marriage to Janet in 1965, when he moved to Liddington.

One of his many friends, John Dale, said: “We’ll remember him as great company and a wonderful raconteur, and from his role in Liddington village life.

“He was very involved in village life, and supported most of the charitable events there. He was very popular and very well respected.

“I had known him since he was 17 or 18. We used to frequent the Bell, and we were weaned on Usher’s beer. There was a wonderful youthful community that went there.

“He enjoyed trips abroad with his pals, and he had many friends in Holland in the jazz world.”

In 1997, the Adver told how a Manhattan accountant called Ede Ford became entranced by the Syncopators after seeing them in a Dutch jazz club called The Swinging Carrot. She became such a fan, in fact, that she went on to see them a dozen times, including making a special trip across the Atlantic to catch them at the Kings Arms in Wood Street.

Mrs Ford said: “They’re just wonderful musicians and wonderful people. Their music electrifies people. It’s wonderful.”

Six years earlier, Mr Cole had retired as advertising manager of Wiltshire Newspapers, a company he joined in 1963. He rose rapidly through the ranks.

A staunch Rotarian, he took part in a lot of charity work, including a relief effort to southern Italy in 1980 after a severe earthquake.

Mr Cole and his wife had no children, and Janet died in 2002, having been lovingly nursed by him during a long illness.

Another friend, who asked not to be named, said: “Everybody enjoyed his company and he was a good friend.”

Mr Cole’s body will be privately committed at Kingsdown Crematorium on Wednesday at 10am, and this will be followed at 10.45am by a service at All Saints Church in Liddington.