A former Bradford magistrate and staunch trade unionist has died, aged 77.

John Durkin, of Undercliffe, was trade union convener at Associated Weavers in Bradford for 25 years.

He was elected president of the Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers’ Union in Bradford, a full-time union officer for the Transport and General Workers’ Union, president of the Joint Committee for Northern Carpet Trades, and a member of the Trades Union Council, the National Race Relations Advisory Committee, and the National Economic Development Council for the Textile Industry as president of his branch committee.

He served on the Bradford magistrates’ Bench for 30 years, retiring in 2002.

He died after what his family described as a “positive and spirited” battle against cancer.

His daughter Averil said: “Despite the fact he was on so many committees he was very much a family man. He always read us bedtime stories and was very much a hands-on dad.

“He and my mum shared an unbreakable bond, supporting each other in their many work, political and social activities, and never tired of each other’s company.”

She said friends he made growing up on the Canterbury estate worked in factories in what she described as “bad conditions”.

She said: “Injustices he saw then shook him as a young man and I think that’s why he went on to become a trade unionist.”

Mr Durkin was a close friend of Bradford North MP Terry Rooney, who will speak at his funeral on Friday. Mr Rooney said: “He was a good friend of mine. I’ve known him for at least 25 years.

“John was a quiet, unassuming man but in his lifetime he did so many different things that were always for the benefit of others and never sought any reward or glory.

“I don’t know where he found the time. He was just a wonderful man and an absolutely genuine man – if we were all like him the world would be a better place.

“He was a life-long trade unionist representing the ordinary working people and trying to make life better.

“That was the story of his life – amazing, selfless devotion to so many causes.”

Mr Durkin leaves his wife, Eunice, two daughters and a son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

His funeral is on Friday at St Claire’s Church in Fagley at 11.45am followed by cremation at Scholemoor Cemetery and Crematorium at 1.20pm.

e-mail: tanya.orourke@telegraphandargus.co.uk