WEST Wight tailor, Clifford Amos, has died aged 91.

Mr Amos was born in the East End of London, on June 5, 1929, as one of five children to Edwin and Mary Amos.

His formative years were beset with hardship, and when he was evacuated during the war to a farm in Kent, he was distraught when he had to go back to London.

Determined to establish a better life for himself, he started working in the East End as a runner in the rag trade, and made his way up to become a bespoke tailor, eventually winning an award from Savile Row.

He met his future wife, Iris, at a dance when he was 17 years old, and they married in 1951, at St Andrew's Church, Walthamstow.

They bought their first house in Walthamstow, and between 1952 and 1966, they had five children.

In 1963, Mr Amos decided to move the family away from London, and started working for the civil service as a tailoring instructor at Parkhurst Prison.

They first lived in Gurnard then moved to Freshwater Bay, where his wife ran Blenheim Guest House.

He later became the maker and supplier of Reefer Jackets to Morgan’s Tailoring and Yachting Outfitters in Cowes, and Pack and Cullifords.

In 1972, he was offered a job in Johannesburg, South Africa, as the principal of the Johannesburg Clothing Industries College. He and the family spent four years there.

They returned to Freshwater in 1976, and he resumed his work with Reefer Jackets.

His wife of 67 years died in 2018.

Mr Amos died at Seven Gables Residential Home, Totland, on April 14.

He leaves behind two sisters, five children and several grandchildren.

Due to government restrictions, his funeral was a private service yesterday (Thursday) at the Isle of Wight Crematorium.