SCOUT leader Fred Oliver will be remembered by generations of Sea Scouts after a safety boat was named in his memory last week.

Hundreds of Scouts, Cubs, friends and parents converged on Devizes Wharf last Friday for the naming ceremony, carried out by Mr Oliver's parents, Cyril and Mary.

Mr Oliver died in an accident on Mount Snowdon, in Wales, in October 1999 when he fell 150ft while leading a group of his own Urchfont Scouts. He was 35 and unmarried.

He also led the nearby Lavington Sea Scouts troop until a permanent leader could be found.

Mrs Oliver said: "That's the kind of thing he would do. To save the troop, he led it for a year or 18 months until someone could be found. Then he stayed as assistant leader.

"So he would run Urchfont Scouts on a Thursday evening then Sea Scouts on a Friday. He didn't mind. He loved being busy. The ironic thing is, he was a terrible sailor. Even on a short ferry trip he went green. "

Though Mr Oliver's first name was Christopher, he was known as Fred and the boat has been named Fred Oliver in his honour.

Sea Scouts leader Mike Grange said: "Naming the boat after Fred means his memory will be passed on to those who never knew him."