David John Beaumont, 49, of Byron Grove, Dewsbury, had been at the first training session for the Heavy Woollen Donkeys in Shaw Cross on Thursday March 13 when his heart failed. Speaking on behalf of the family his wife, Jackie, thanked members of the team and paramedics for all their efforts to save him.

Sport was just one of Mr Beaumont's many passions but the happiness of his family was always his first priority.

A devoted husband to Jackie and father to Stephanie and Oliver, Mr Beaumont worked as a blacksmith for Savile Town firm Arthur Firth Ltd which has been run by his family since it was established in 1870. Whether working on the lamps and weathervane at Cleckheaton town hall, the lettering for Wimbledon or the bikes of local children, Mr Beaumont had time and a smile for everyone he met. The son of Alec and June Beaumont, he was born and raised in Mirfield with his four sisters.

He attended Lower Hopton School and Mirfield High School before joining the family firm.

He was a second dan in aikido, a keen skier and a member of the off-roading clubs Pennine Landrover and Northern Landrover. He also loved to ride his Norton Commando vintage motorbike.

He was a long-time rugby league fan and huge supporter of Heckmondwike's Peel Panthers, who his son Oliver plays for. His sense of adventure saw him crawling through Viet Cong tunnels in Vietnam and completing aikido training with police in Hong Kong.

Closer to home he enjoyed weekends by the coast at Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay where the family plan to place a memorial bench. Mr Beaumont had been a choirboy at Eastthorpe and was a member of the band at St John's, Ravensthorpe, and a trumpet instructor for Mirfield Corps of Drums.

When he and his wife married at Upper Hopton Church in June 1983, a full corps of drums played and gave a guard of honour. Every Remembrance Sunday Mr Beaumont played bugle at services throughout the area and at his funeral yesterday members of the Royal British Legion paid their respects by playing The Last Post and Reveille.

The Rev Simon Pitcher and Father Nicholas Hird, a friend of Mr Beaumont, led the service at Christ Church, Liversedge, before a burial at Liversedge Cemetery.

A collection was made for the memorial bench and memorial trophies to be presented to the Heavy Woollen Donkeys and the Peel Panthers.