DENNIS Bowerman, who has died aged 90, spent his working life in the Oxford printing industry.

He left SS Philip and James School in North Oxford a month before his 14th birthday and started a seven-year apprenticeship with Potter’s Press, a small printing firm at the corner of Banbury Road and Keble Road.

He was called up to the Army in 1943, but six months later, transferred to the Royal Navy.

He trained as a signaller, using lights, semaphore flags and Morse code, and served aboard HMS Artifex, a liner which had been converted into a repair ship.

It sailed to Bombay, Ceylon, Australia, the Philippines and Hong Kong, carrying out repairs to stricken ships in the Allied fleet.

HMS Artifex was in need of attention itself later in the war. It suffered boiler problems and limped home, finally arriving at Barry Docks in South Wales in June 1946.

Mr Bowerman, known as Den, returned to Potter’s Press after the war to complete his apprenticeship, and spent a short time at Holywell Press, before joining the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times as a compositor, turning journalists’ copy into metal type.

He worked for the newspapers for 34 years, first at Newspaper House in New Inn Hall Street and later at Osney Mead, embracing new methods of production.

Mr Bowerman, a keen cyclist and swimmer in his younger days, met his wife Joan at an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) meeting at St Edward’s School in 1943, before he was called up.

Mrs Bowerman recalled: “I didn’t want to go to the meeting because I didn’t like the uniform. But my father persuaded me.”

They were married at SS Philip and James Church in 1947 and celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary in June.

They were keen dancers and enjoyed gardening and DIY at their home in Church Street, Kidlington.

The funeral service at Oxford Crematorium on October 2 ended with Victor Silvester’s By the Sleepy Lagoon, reflecting the couple’s love of dance music.

Mr Bowerman, who died on September 20, leaves his wife Joan, son Chris, daughter-in-law Margaret and two grandchildren, Louisa and Mark.

In a statement, the family said: “Den is remembered by all who knew him as a lovely, gentle, thoughtful man, who always dressed impeccably (except when doing DIY). He loved his sports jackets, cravats, cap or hat — and his beloved pipe was never far away.”