"GREAT loss for all Bradford, was a great Bradfordian. Will be missed by all."

Meaningful words - among the many posted on a book of condolence on the Telegraph & Argus website - following the death of former Bradford Council leader, Ian Greenwood OBE.

"Ian Greenwood's loss cannot be described in words. Bradford has lost a great friend who served the community irrespective of colour or creed. May God bless him in heaven," reads another post.

And so they continue: "Ian put Bradford first and was a politician whose word you could trust, which is a rare commodity in politics. I sat across the chamber from Ian since 2006 and knew if Ian promised something he delivered it. He was a big character who will be sorely missed."

Cllr Greenwood's political career - spanning four decades and which saw him take the leadership of the Council twice - brought him into contact with many people.

From 1995 to 2012 he represented Little Horton ward as a Labour councillor, returning to the Council this year to represent Bolton and Undercliffe ward. He also served on many panels on Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and in 2013 was awarded the OBE for services to local government.

The impact the 68-year-old made on the community he served is evident through those who have shared their memories of a committed councillor who did his best for Bradford.

According to the T&A archives, it was Cllr Greenwood's idea to honour the Bradford Pals regiment - many of whom perished at the battle of the Somme, and other heroes who died on the Western front in the 1914-18 war - in a Millennium gallery at Bradford's City Hall.

In a T&A report at the time, Cllr Greenwood said: "I think it is sad that there have been a lot of brave people in Bradford and many people wouldn't even know who they were because there is nothing to record their courage."

Geoff Barker, former chairman and a founding member of the Bradford Mechanics Institute World War 1 group, had known Cllr Greenwood for 35 years and recalls his presence at the Remembrance Day services in the city and also his support of a memorial stone to the Bradford Pals in the Garden of Remembrance.

A former assistant director of Bradford Council, Geoff initially met Cllr Greenwood when he was a trade union organiser.

"He would have been in his 30s, may be even younger, and he was a very impressive organiser," recalls Geoff.

"Ian always did his best for the staff he represented."

Speaking about Cllr Greenwood's death, he adds: "It is terribly sad because he was only in his sixties. It is a loss to the city. I remember his personality. If he came into a room he dominated it, he was that kind of a guy."

Geoff also remembers Cllr Greenwood would 'defend Bradford's cause and did it very well.'

Among his attributes, Cllr Greenwood won the elected member achievement award for his work on Bradford Trident, an initiative reviving communities in areas of Bradford.

Local pensioners' champion and founder member of Bradford and District Senior Power, Jean Walker, saw first hand the positive impact Cllr Greenwood had on the community he served.

Jean explains how she initially came to know Cllr Greenwood after participating in the ITV show Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway in 2007.

"He was a believer in what we were trying to do," says Jean.

She, like many, are 'devastated' by this death.

"He was Mr Bradford, Mr Bradford through and through.

"He was dedicated to Bradford and he wanted to see it moving - he was for the working man and I think he was a man who you could always talk to. He was very down to earth," adds Jean.

Respected and well thought of within his work and the community, Cllr Greenwood's family also paid tribute to 'an absolute champion.'

Paul Greenwood Freeman, Cllr Greenwood's cousin, says: “He took me on my first pub crawl. We went on a tour of the council chambers and had an Indian lunch. He took me to the house where my mother was born and even then people would be coming up to him asking him things.

“He was always an absolute champion. He made a big impression on me as a person. He was larger than life – a heart bigger than his body.”