THE funeral of a Crosshill man who became known as one of Central Fife's leading local history gurus, took place on Monday.

Jim Campbell died after an illness bravely born over the past few months.

The 75 year-old was a very popular man in the Benarty area and he was someone who had spent the best part of 20 years putting together an amazing collection of history on life in the villages of Glencraig, Crosshill, Lochore and Ballingry.

The resident of St Ronan's Gardens was a member of Benarty History Preservation Group and the organisation helped inspire him to put together an amazing record of the area's history.

As wife Rosemary said: "Most of it was contained in the garden shed, an amazing mine of information!"

Jim grew up in Lumphinnans but as the village's pits wound down his family moved to Benarty.

However, when he left school Jim became a slater and roughcaster but he decided to join the Army and served for nine years in the 4th Royal Tank Regiment.

During his time in the Forces he married Rosemary and when he was demobbed in 1974 he worked for a time as a window cleaner before becoming a boilerman at the then new Queen Margaret Hospital, in Dunfermline.

He became a NUPE shop steward while there and when the union became UNISON he chaired the Dunfermline branch.

Jim retired in the late 1990s and it was then that his local history gathering went into full swing.

Recalled his son Kenny: "When he retired he used to go walking but it was an activity that asked him more questions than posed answers when he came across local features such as Lochore Castle, at the Meadows Country Park.

"He felt it was such an iconic structure he that the history of it should be fully researched and facts boards created.

"He was also a believer that if the castle could be cleaned up it should be floodlit and the Living Lomonds Partnership took up the project and ironically on the day dad died before Christmas, the floodlights went on."

Jim closely followed how Benarty developed through the development of the coal industry with the two big pits, the Mary and Glencraig Collieries, being the bases for thousands of people to work.

He also worked with fellow local historian Arthur Nevay on the creation of several local history books, one of his favourites being called 'A Wee Keek Back'. He also worked with Eddie Henderson, who wrote the History of Lochoreshire.

Jim continued to work on books and created an amazing history of local soldiers and sailors who fought in the First World War.

He produced an in-depth record of the work of these servicemen.

Added Rosemary: "Jim spent many hours compiling his records including spending a lot of time using the files of the Lochgelly Times and many people liked to ask him questions about what he knew about the area."

The funeral of Jim, who is survived by Rosemary, a son and a daughter, three grandchildren and one great grandchild, took place on Monday at Kirkcaldy Crematorium.