HE was a man who made his home in Britain but never forgot his African roots.

John Bakanoba, of Meltham, has died at the age of 73 – 38 years after settling in the village.

And he was a man who inspired countless people in Meltham and the rest of Huddersfield to support his dream of helping people in his native Uganda.

Over the years, he helped raise tens of thousands of pounds to improve the lot of families in his home village of Kyema, some 130 miles from Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

His daughter Jane said: “He never forgot who he was or where he came from.

“It was important to him that he remembered his family and the community back home.

“He felt a responsibility to try and improve the outcomes for them”.

Mr Bakanoba came to Britain to study engineering at the former Huddersfield Technical College.

He then began a career as a draughtsman with the former Holset engineering firm and remained there until he retired.

He and his family lived in Briar Avenue, Meltham, and it was once he had settled in the village that he began his community work.

He approached Meltham Methodist Church with an idea to raise money for a new well for people in Kyema and it was a project that was an enormous success.

Local churches, schools and other organisations backed the project and the clean water was a boon to the village.

He also inspired more fundraising to set up a community centre in the area and to improve facilities for local families.

Mr Bakanoba was also the chairman of the Mustard Seed project, a scheme to help orphans in Uganda.

He was very active in the Meltham community and in 1992 was elected to Meltham Town Council as a Liberal Democrat. He later served two spells as council chairman.

In 2001, he was awarded the MBE for services to the community. He travelled to Buckingham Palace along with his wife Jean and daughters Jane and Mary to receive the award from Prince Charles.

He also leaves a son-in-law Nick and grandchildren Eden, Jacob and the late Becki.

A funeral service is at Meltham Parish Church at 1pm on Friday, March 5.