I believe that the pinnacle of Swindon Architecture was achieved way back in the 1970s when the David Murray John Tower was completed by a far seeing and ambitious new District Council called Thamesdown Borough council.

This new council, an amalgamation of the old Highworth Rural District Council and Swindon Borough Council, was born as the footings were being dug into the Swindon clay.

The man behind the scheme and not known to be a man with feet of clay was the town clerk, David Murray John.

He was a man who had real vision for Swindon, a man who had seen the post-war growth of Swindon was not derailed and was delivered upon.

Politicians came and went, as is the way of the political world, but David Murray John kept the town on track.

This man was a steadying hand and though he retired in 1974 the David Murry John Tower and, coincidentally, the Oasis Leisure Centre, were both being constructed.

I believe that, sadly, David Murray John died before either building was open.

There is one photo of him in the Civic offices in gown and wig, but of all the photos of David Murray John I have only seen two where he was not smoking a cigarette.

He had served the people from before the outbreak of the Second World War but the DMJ Tower is a monument he and that generation of Swindonians left behind as to what can be achieved in Swindon.

It is strange to think that though it was started in 1974 it was completed and opened within two years.

I remember regularly visiting Swindon town centre to shop on Saturdays during that period and the rate at which the building had gone up was awesome.

When it was opened I remember thinking that it shone in its stainless steel finish like a futuristic church tower and that it stood majestically above the rest of the surrounding buildings.

I find that it protrudes from the skyline of Swindon as you approach the town from different points, and is a welcome and familiar sight.

A visit to the roof is an interesting experience, especially as the RAF Hercules planes appear to use it as a navigation feature.

It is only 80 or so metres high but it feels a lot higher when you stand on a balcony, looking down.

All this was built for the sum of £2m, but those living and working in the 1970s will tell you that was when £2m was a lot of money.

A pint of beer (Watneys Red) was 16p. Pie and chips was, I think, 32p, and I could live well as a senior apprentice on £17.80 a week, able to run a car, pay my keep and still save some money.

I think the David Murray John Tower has succeeded as a building, for almost as long as David Murray John himself had served the town.