LANDLORD of a popular Culham pub Ronald Long has died, aged 82.

Mr Long was described as being a well-liked, popular landlord when he was running pubs in both Culham and Adderbury.

He was most well-known for setting up the Abingdon Pool League – one of the very few types of club in the area – which made his pub a popular place to visit.

Ronald Long was born in Surrey on March 26 1933 to parents Violet Elizabeth, a housekeeper, and Stanley, a window cleaner.

He had two brothers and one sister. His mother shortly remarried when Mr Long was very small, to a man named Eric Copus, who Mr Long recognised as his father for most of his life.

He went to Telferscot Road School in Balham as a boy, before joining the Royal Air Force at the age of 18. All boys that age were required to do two or three years national service, and Mr Long spent 18 months in Egypt.

After returning he took a job at soda company Canada Dry and quickly became a manager.

However, Mr Long became well known in Oxfordshire for running the White Horse pub in Adderbury, just outside Banbury, which he took over in 1973 and stayed for 12 and a half years.

After a year’s break, he then became landlord at The Lion at Culham, near Abingdon, in 1986 for nearly seven years.

The Lion became a popular place to visit after Mr Long set up the Abingdon Pool League at The Lion during the 1980s, to which people would travel from all across Oxfordshire to play in.

During this time, not many local pubs had a pool league, usually offering billiards instead.

This made Mr Long’s pub exceptionally popular.

He was described as a well-liked man with many friends. He was hard-working and dedicated to his work at the pubs, enjoying playing Aunt Sally, darts and working behind the bar. He was also a member of Chipping Norton golf club and enjoyed fishing.

Mr Long married Margaret Lindfield in August 1954, after meeting four years before. The couple celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary three months before he passed away.

Mr and Mrs Long lived together in Chipping Norton before working and living at their pubs.

They had one son, Barry, in 1955 who went on to give them four grandchildren: Nicholas, 32, Samantha, 29, Sophie, 24 and Olivia, 19.

Mr Long retired pub life in 1992 and moved to the northern part of the Costa Blanca, Spain with his wife in the same year.

He died in Benissa on October 15 and is survived by his wife. His funeral was held on October 21 near his home.