A mainstay of a Diss auctioneers, who changed the face of the business during his 36 years of service, has been remembered.
Peter Smith, a former partner, principal and, latterly, senior partner of TW Gaze, died on Easter Saturday at the age of 94.
Mr Smith oversaw numerous changes to the way in which the business worked, including moving its main offices from Roydon Road to its current Market Hill headquarters, before retiring in 1992.
Paul Head, associate business director at TW Gaze, told the Diss Express: “Peter was senior partner of the firm when I was first employed here in 1977.
“I always found him straight but fair to work with. You knew where you were with him. He was a very traditional person, who was uncompromising in his beliefs.”
Born in Bradford, Mr Smith qualified as an agricultural auctioneer and valuer, before joining the late John Gaze in Diss in 1956.
He would go on to play a key role in the evolution of the business, including in farm tenancy advice, where he was known for his tenacious approach to rent negotiations.
Outside of his work commitments, Mr Smith was an early member of Diss Rugby Club, a councillor on the old urban district council, a keen member of Diss Round Table and a former president of the Norfolk Association of Agricultural Valuers.
>TX_During his time in Diss, Mr Smith and his wife, Liz, who died in 2013, lived at Eaton Lodge, in Mount Street.
