Only Mayor to greet a Monarch dies

As a long-serving Bexhill Borough councillor, Margaret Ackland was Borough Mayor at the time of the Royal visit to the town by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in October 1966 - the only official visit by a reigning monarch to the town.

The visit was arguably her "finest hour" in local government service and undoubtedly the high-spot of a well-executed mayoralty.

The visit was brief. To accomplish all that Borough and Palace hoped for within the time available called of an operation which had to be planned and executed with meticulous care.

With her Mayoress, Mrs Singleton, Cllr Ackland carried off a punishing programme with an aplomb which earned her many plaudits in the town and beyond.

Margaret Ackland was the widow of Lt. Col. Heber Ackland, late of the 3rd/2nd Punjab Regiment, Indian Army, whose parents had lived in Bexhill for more than 40 years.

She was first elected councillor for Egerton Park Ward for the Conservatives in May, 1956.

Under the pre-1974 local government reorganisation, local authorities were able to vote councillors who had given long and outstanding service on to the aldermanic bench - in effect a kind of Upper House which meant that the recipients no longer had to face the ballot box.

Mrs Ackland's service to the town was recognised when she was made a borough Alderman in May, 1970.

A qualified nurse, she always took a great interest in health matters and social welfare.

In 1967 she was elected president of the Hastings and District Branch of the Royal College of Nursing and the National Council of Nurses of the United Kingdom.

Mrs Ackland leaves a son and a daughter.