The fire goes out on an adopted Dalesman

'Fiery' Fred had lived for many years in Flasby, near Gargrave, with his wife, Veronica.

There he relished a quiet life in the country, much removed from his rumbustuous early days, and became a passionate bird watcher.

While he always loved his cricket, he would become truly animated when talking about the varieties of birds attracted to his garden.

He would help local charities, often turning out to give a much-needed publicity photo shoot.

In one of his last engagements he flicked on the switch to start Skipton's Christmas lights. It was, like so many of his local engagements, done without a fee.

The funeral took place at St Cuthbert's Priory Church at Bolton Abbey yesterday (Thursday) with a memorial service being held later in the year at York Minster.

It was to Bolton Abbey that the world's media flocked when his daughter was married to the son of film star Raquel Welch.

The news that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and a condition known as small cell carcinoma became public knowledge in early May.

The Herald reported that he had been told the cancer has been discovered early and he was expected to make a satisfactory recovery. Friends and former colleagues were shocked by his death so soon afterwards.

The news was broken to a shocked Headingley crowd on Saturday before the latest England v Sri Lanka one day international.

A one minute round of applause paid tribute to him.

Frederick Sewards Trueman was born in 1931 in Stainton, just inside the Yorkshire boundary - a critical factor. Legend has it that he was plucked from the coal face but he told our Dalesfolk columnist John Sheard in July last year: "I've never been near a coal face in my life".

Far from being from a mining family, he was from country antecedents. His grandfather bought horses for the British cavalry and his father was a point to point jockey who later became a trainer.

He was spotted playing cricket at Bramall Lane and was only 21 when he made his England debut against India at Leeds.

The cricket statisticians will tell you that he became the first Test cricketer to reach 300 wickets, captured a total of 2,304 first class victims for just 18.29 runs apiece.

But there are many who believed that his gruff exterior - he was seen as the very epitome of a Yorkshireman - upset the establishment and denied him even more caps and victims.

He was part of the Yorkshire team which dominated county cricket but he retired from the game in 1969, making a brief return for Derbyshire in limited overs cricket only.

When he finished cricket he turned to journalism, writing a column in the Sunday People.

He also made television appearances in Dad's Army (playing a "ringer" in the air wardens' cricket team taking on Captain Mainwaring's Home Guard), Emmerdale Farm, Blankety Blank and Nationwide.

But it was commentating on the radio where he had most impact, linking up with among others Don Mosey, another Yorkshireman and former Craven Herald reporter.

His blunt, trenchant views were loved by traditionalists, as was his style of avoiding lavish praise for the latest heir to his legacy.

In days when Test cricketers break down with "stress fractures" and complain of overbowling, Freddie had little sympathy, pointing out that he would bowl 1,500 in a season and never picked up a serious injury - a point echoed by Ian Botham on Saturday when he said modern bowlers would faint at the thought of Freddie's workload. But while he toiled day in day out in domestic cricket, the number of Tests played in those days was a lot less than the modern era.

It is widely believed, particularly in Yorkshire, that given today's Test schedule, his final tally of international wickets would be far higher.

Yorkshire Television also added to the myth when they started a series called 'Indoor League' featuring Trueman as presenter and Sid Waddell as a young, breathless commentator. It took in sports such as darts, dominoes and bar skittles and Trueman, invariably featuring with pipe and pint in either hand, added to his gruff image which was far from the man, certainly in his later life.

By the late 1990s, Trueman's belief that today's cricketers were a pale imitation of his contemporaries fell out of favour with the BBC and he was gradually dropped. But the public still loved his blunt speaking.

He was appointed an OBE in 1989 but efforts for a higher honour were never successful.

In our Dalesfolk article of last year, Fred said the first time he came to the Dales was to play in a charity match at Settle. He was recommended to take the "scenic" route home, via Grassington and upper Wharfedale and decided to live there.

In 1970 he spotted an advert for a bungalow in Flasby in the Craven Herald and bought it. He lived there ever since, extending it.

One of his biggest friends in the area was Skipton solicitor, the late Jack Mewies, whose son, John, said his father's friendship with Fred began when they met at Scarborough cricket festival during the late 1950s.

He said: "My father introduced him to the area and He immediately fell in love with it.

"He became a son of the Dales, he regarded the Dales as his home."

And he added: "They were inseparable until my father died six years ago."

Mr Mewies got to know Fred when he was aged 11.

He said: "I grew up with him.

He always used to take me around with my father. It was an enjoyable part of my life."

Mr Mewies explained that Fred and his father operated a number of business interests together.

These included a sports shop on Swadford Street, Skipton, now occupied by the Tootsie shoe shop and the company Fred Trueman Sports Ltd.

He added that he had many memories, including his father and Fred visiting local pubs, such as the Hole in the Wall in Skipton, to play darts or dominoes.

"He had fairly strong feelings about things and was very much an archetypal Tory, a very staunch supporter of England, " said Mr Mewies.

But he added that Fred's true character was different from his public persona.

Mr Mewies said he had a "softer side" and was very caring for his family.

"People thought of him as a gruff bluff Yorkshireman but there was a very kind side to him, " he said.

And he added: "We as an area ought to be proud and privileged that we have had him for so long.

"There are a lot of people around here who have got a lot to thank him for. He was very happy to put something back into the local community."

Stories about him are legion.

Playing against Australia the Rev David Shepherd (who went on to become Bishop of Liverpool) dropped a simple catch off his bowling. Fred barked: "Pretend it's Sunday Reverend, keep your bloody hands together!"

And when told that an England bowler had not appeared for the day's play because of a migraine he thundered: "Migraine! In my day it was called a ruddy hangover!"

The family told the Herald: "He fell in love with the Yorkshire Dales when he first met Jack Mewies.

"When his last marriage failed he decided he wanted to live in this area. In August 1970 he bought a house in Flasby and lived there ever since and never regretted it.

"He always loved being in this area. He loved the people. He made many long term friends here, true friends that he loved.

"He loved the wildlife and was a very keen birdwatcher."