Last updated 05:33, Friday, 27 June 2008

Jim Chambers, who has died at the age of 78, had three great passions in his life outside of work – his wife Catherine, jazz and military history.

Jim Chambers: Was president of president of Carlisle Jazz Club at the time of his death

He was educated at Carlisle Grammar School and started his working life at the Midland Bank. That was followed by army service in the 12th Royal Lancers, and after his discharge he found his true metier as a sales representative, initially working for Crosfields, Carnation and Lever Bros elsewhere in England.

In the late 1950s the chance of a job with Shell-Mex and BP came up: Jim grabbed it with both hands and never looked back, his outgoing personality making him the ideal representative for a major oil company.

When those two companies split in the sixties, he took on a similar job as a Cumbrian representative for BP Oil and was proud to hold this position until his retirement.

He lived in Currock until his marriage to Catherine in 1978, when he moved to the home where they remained happily until his death.

In his teens Jim became interested in jazz and this developed into a consuming passion.

He learned to play the trombone and was a valuable contributor to the local jazz scene in the sixties as instrumentalist and vocalist with the legendary Black Tulip Orchestra and then with the KayCee Jazzmen, a band composed of Kendal and Carlisle musicians.

He also became a major force in British jazz as a promoter, responsible for bringing many top British bands, often with American guests such as Henry ‘Red’ Allen, to Carlisle as part of the programme of the original Carlisle Jazz Club.

At the time of his death he was still president of the current Carlisle Jazz Club.

Another major interest, sparked by his military experiences in the 12th Royal Lancers, was World War One, and he made several trips to Great War battlefields after becoming a member of the Western Front Association.

Jim was never content to take just a passing interest in any subject (although his general knowledge was very extensive, as evinced by his impressive record at completing the Telegraph cryptic crossword).

As a result his jazz records had to fight for space on his groaning bookshelves alongside his weighty tomes on military history.

Always fun to be with, Jim will be sorely missed by all the friends who turned out at his funeral at Our Lady and St Joseph’s Church, Carlisle.

He is survived by his widow Catherine, who did a magnificent job in nursing Jim through his distressing final illness.

John Tremble, funeral directors, made the arrangements.