An ex-newspaper professional who gave four decades of service to The Argus has passed away.

William Henry Thompsett, who worked at The Argus offices in Robertson Street in Brighton for 40 years, died aged 90 at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Friends and family attended his funeral service on Wednesday following his death on August 5.

Fondly known as Bill, he worked for The Argus, Southern Publishing, until his retirement in 1988 after starting as a printer in his 20s.

Widow Joan, 78, said: “I met Bill when he worked in Robert Street and I worked in a bakery on the corner of Kensington Street. He used to come in for his food and we got to know each other from there.

“He worked as a printer for many years at The Argus and went on to do various jobs, including training people on the printers when he wasn’t physically able to do it anymore before leading a cleaning team just before he retired in 1988.

“He was a wonderful husband and was always there for me. He was a very quiet man with a dry sense of humour. He’d always throw out witty one-liners. We never had children together but he has two sons from a previous marriage. He passed away on the eve of our 46th wedding anniversary.”

Bill suffered from Alzheimer’s in the years before his death and was diagnosed with cancer three weeks after retiring from The Argus.

He was also struck down with septicaemia during his last days and was only given 48 hours to live by doctors but managed to hold out for a further two weeks. His funeral was held on Wednesday at Woodvale Crematorium.

Joan added: “The funeral went very well. It was a great celebration of his life and was the perfect send-off. He was born and raised in Brighton, apart from serving in North Africa and Italy during the Second World War, and he went to the old school on Finsbury Road. He will be missed.”