A GREAT-grandfather of 25 who was made homeless weeks before Christmas has died.

Ken Why, formerly of Curtis Street, passed away in November after a year spent battling strokes.

Relatives praised the South African man, who was often making toys for his grandchildren, as an “unpolished diamond”.

Born in Cape Town in 1925, Ken was involved in the early anti-apartheid political movements – battling white supremacists in South Africa.

There were suggestions that Ken may have been involved in gun running for the groups.

And, with political temperatures rising, Ken moved his young family to Swindon in 1956.

A trawlerman, engineer and carpenter by background, Ken did odd jobs for people around his adopted town – but spent much of his time working up gifts and building boats.

He left Swindon to start a new family on the south coast, but moved back to the town after a decade – returning to the Curtis Street house that he would eventually call home for more than four decades.

Aged 92, a family dispute left Ken homeless just weeks before Christmas – and a stroke saw him end up in the Great Western Hospital connected to a ventilator.

Slowly, he returned to health. After more than a month on the wards, council officers found him a space at Gorse Hill sheltered housing complex David Stoddart Gardens.

Will Bailey, 71, of Bath, paid tribute to his father-in-law - who he first met in the 1980s at Eastcott pub The Beehive.

He described Ken as “rugged and bluff, sociable, generous – an unpolished diamond”.

Will thanked those who had helped Ken through his troubles over the past year. He said: “It was local folk – carers, support organisations and then new neighbours – who stepped in, helped him into a flat, furnished and equipped it, recovered access to his meagre pension, provided clothing, and befriended him.”

He said that Ken’s brush with homelessness had left him more aware of those about him – that many would dismiss as down-and-outs. “We should give a moment’s thought to those others just like him – in the corner shop, the bus queue, the surgery and in their lonely flats.

“They too could do with a smile and a friendly word this Christmas.”

Will said that, despite a series of mini-strokes over the past year, Ken’s death had still come as a shock. They had been planning to celebrate Christmas together.

Ken, a keen craftsman who built his own boats, had still been asking for his woodworking tools and wrapping presents for his grandchildren into his final weeks. “He was still trying to make presents all the way through,” said Will. “He was saying, ‘I want to make this, where are my tools?’”

Ken passed away on November 22, aged 92.

A funeral was held at Holy Rood Catholic Church, Swindon, with relatives coming from as far afield as Australia for the ceremony.