Ralph Morten, founder of the Ilkley, West Yorkshire hardware independent RW Morten, has passed away at the age of 101.
Mr Morten established the business in 1937, since when it has come to be known as 'Yorkshire's famous hardware store', selling DIY, hardware, ironmongery, garden tools and housewares both from the shop and online, and employing 26 staff. Mr Morten retired in 1977 and sold the shop on.

Current owner Stephen Senior told diyweek.net: "He was an exceptionally clever man. He was brilliant at engineering, he could make anything from scratch. His great passion in life was making clocks, he'd make all the screws and bolts for them, everything.

"He started out as a self-trained plumber, but at 27 he decided he wanted a shop and found one in Ilkley. He got married to his wife Barbara on October 16 1937 in the morning, and in the afternoon they had the first day of trading in the shop.

"During the war he went off to serve king and country and was in the D-Day landings, and Mrs Morten and her sister looked after the shop. When he came back it went from strength to strength."

Mr Senior's late father, Brian Senior, and Keith Hart - both of whom had worked in the shop since they were 14 - bought the business from Mr Morten when he retired. Stephen Senior also joined in due course and has now worked at RW Morten for some 30 years. Mr Hart retired around 20 years ago, and Brian Senior passed away in 2002.