A former West Midlands councillor and teacher has died at the age of 91.

Marwood Eric Brown, who served on Birmingham City Council for nine years, died on Saturday.

Mr Brown, whose wife Marjorie became the city's first female Lord Mayor in 1973, represented the wards of Ladywood, Nechells and Saltley for the Labour Party.

During his time with the council, he served on the education and economic development committees and was chairman of the youth employment/careers and the further and higher education sub-committees.

In addition, he was chairman of the governing bodies of a number of Midlands schools and was a member of the Birmingham University council.

Born on July 27, 1916, in Weston-super-Mare, Mr Brown moved to Birmingham in 1924, where he went to school at Tindal Street Primary and

Moseley Grammar. He spent wartime service with the 57th tank training regiment at Warminster and later at Catterick being demobbed in 1946 as a full sergeant.

After the war, he trained as a teacher at Wimpole Park Teachers College, Hertfordshire and specialised as a mathematics teacher at St Peter's College, Saltley, before taking up his first teaching post. This was at Nelson Street primary

school in Birmingham. He then worked at Smethwick Hall Secondary school, Shirelands secondary school, Pheasey School in Staffordshire and then at Barr Beacon Comprehensive School in Walsall.

He initially served as Barr Beacon's head of lower school and then became deputy head.

In an obituary he wrote himself shortly before his death, he said he had been happy in each and every school he had taught at.

"If I had had to start my career again I would have elected to do the same," he said.

Robert Jackson, whose father Alderman Albert Jackson campaigned alongside Mr Brown during their political careers, said Mr Brown would be "greatly missed".

He said even outside of work, education played a huge part in Mr Brown's life as he helped members of his family and the younger generations of the Jackson family.

Mr Jackson said: "He helped me and my sister with Maths when we were younger and in later years, he went on to take his A level maths again - even though he was in his 70s.

"He was a wonderful man. He was another uncle to me."

Sport also played a major part in his life. He won colours at school for cricket and rugby, but always preferred football.

He played cricket and football for his regimental teams and was named captain of the regimental first eleven.

Later in life, Mr Brown became a referee for the Handsworth and District League, the FA Cup early rounds and the Birmingham and District League.

Mr Brown leaves his widow Marjorie, whom he married in March 1940, his two daughters, Carol and Jackie, some six grandchildren and a total of six great grandchildren. :