Tributes have been paid to a former Oldham church minister who has been described as a “true gentleman” and “pillar of the community”.

Reverend David Joynes, who was the minister of Beulah Baptist Church in Hollinwood for 52 years, died aged 91 on Thursday, October 13 after a short illness.

Under Reverend Joynes the Beulah Baptist Church became one of the first churches to get a youth centre in 1964.

The centre is still used today and at one point had 200 members.

In 1965 Reverend Jones became the head of Religious Education at Counthill School where he taught until 1993.

A year later he became a councillor for Hollinwood and represented the ward until 2002.

Reverend Joynes retired as a minister in 2009 at the age of 77 and moved to Carlton in the Yorkshire Dales where he continued to serve as a local preacher at the Methodist chapels until his late eighties.

Remembering her father, Alison Cheetham, 64, from Grotton, who taught at North Chadderton school before her retirement, said: “He had an absolutely huge impact on the community. He had an infectious sense of humour.

“As a family we’ve had so many messages from people about the impact he has had on their lives, from the people at Counthill, who’ve talked about the way they inspired him, the hundreds of couples that he’s married to the people in the local community which was his passion. He just loved people and wanted to help people.”

Franny Ward, who works as a DJ in Oldham, wrote a tribute to Reverend Jones on Facebook after hearing the news of his passing.

He wrote: “Mr Joynes gave me my first big break as a youth club DJ at Hollinwood Youth Club (Beula).

“He was known as Mr Hollinwood as he did a lot of work in the local community before retiring in 2009. Rest In Peace Mr Joynes. Thanks for the memories”.

The post has been flooded with heartfelt messages of condolence with people remembering Reverend Jones as a “true gentleman”, “lovely man”, and “pillar of the community”.

Commenting on the post, John Heap wrote: “A real pillar of the community. May he RIP”, and Donna Maria Prescott added: “Such a lovely man with the most infectious smile and laugh.”

Bob Jolley also commented, referring to Reverend Jones as a “diamond of a fella” adding: “The world needs more Mr Joynes’s he will be sadly missed. RIP sir it was an absolute pleasure to have known you.”

Diane Walsha added: “Sad news. He was a fantastic guy and I, along with many others have very happy memories of Beulah and the youth club he set up.”

Reverend Joynes leaves his wife Elaine, his three daughters Alison Cheetham, Rosemary Chadwick, and Christine Carins, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

His funeral will take place on Friday, November 4 at 10.30am at Beulah Community Church, Withins Road in Hollinwood.