A DOCTOR who was awarded the MBE for his services to medicine has died at the age of 80.

Dr John Wilkinson Ferguson, of Dentdale Road, Lostock, died on April 22 after a long illness.

The father of seven practised all his life at surgeries in Salford.

When he retired in 1991 he was the only doctor who had been around since before the NHS was established.

Dr Ferguson moved to Bolton in 1978 and became a very popular figure in the community.

Both he and his wife were active members of the Deane cum Heaton branch of the Labour Party.

In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to classical music, but was first and foremost a family man.

Dr Ferguson's funeral was on April 30, at St John's Methodist Church, Horwich. Dr John Ferguson