Edward Good

He was the only child of John Good, who ran the family shipping business of John Good and Sons in Hull, and was also a Colonel in the 4th East Yorkshire Regiment in the First World War.

When the Second World War broke out, father and son both joined up.

Mr Good, who went to Hymers School, was just 19. He became a lieutenant with a full watch-keeping certificate, and was officer of the watch on the destroyer HMS Versatile chasing the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau through the night of February 12, 1942. Soon after this he volunteered for the dangerous motor torpedo boat service which, along with the submarine service, only accepted volunteers.

Mr Good was posted to Malta and given command of MTB 378, one of the new American Vesper boats.

Light, fast and capable of delivering a knock-out blow, MTBs had minimal protection and relied on speed and timing to attack enemy ships and then escape.

Mr Good was part of a seven-boat unit which defended Malta and then played an active role in the invasion of Sicily and Italy. In one three-month period this group was responsible for the sinking of no fewer than 31 enemy ships.

Mr Good was twice mentioned in despatches.

After the war, he returned to the family shipping business and masterminded its move to new buildings on High Street.

The firm had extensive trading links with Scandinavia and the Baltic, and for 30 years Edward served as Finnish Consul for Hull.

Mr Good was active in the business world, becoming chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Shipping and president of the Yorkshire Federation of Chambers of Commerce. He also served for many years on the boards of the Sailors' Children's Society and the Mission to Seaman.

It was a matter of enormous regret to him that he was unable to do anything to stop the decline of the port in the 70s and 80s.

In 1950 he married Dorothy Hodgson, a prominent local business woman who ran Fowler's Caf and bakery in Chariot Street until it closed in 1952. Dorothy was also, at the time of her appointment, the youngest female magistrate in the country.

Mr Good was a keen sportsman. He discovered as a teenager that he was a fast runner. He broke the Hymers 200m record, which he then kept for 16 years. His passion was rugby and he played on the wing for Hull and East Riding and then spent many years refereeing the game. When he felt he could no longer keep up with the pack, he took up golf and then bowls.

He was a prominent member and organiser of events at Kirkella Golf Club, and a member of Cottingham bowls club. His other great passion was bridge and he continued to be a member of the Ferriby Bridge Club until his stroke in 2001. Even after he was confined to a wheelchair, he continue to play bridge one handed.

Mr Good was a quiet, reserved, highly-principled man with a dry, active sense of humour which he retained up to his death.

He is survived by his two children, Helen and Robert, and two grandchildren. The funeral service will be held at All Saints Church Hessle on Thursday at 12pm.