THE last governor of Oxford Prison, John Talbot, has died at the age of 58.

Mr Talbot was born on March 20, 1949, the son of the Vicar of Knaresborough. He spent his early years there, before going to Giggleswick School in Settle and later studying at Leeds University.

It was here that he became involved in the Territorial Army, later becoming an officer serving with the Royal Corps of Transport at the Longmoor Military Railway.

Mr Talbot joined Her Majesty's Prison Service in 1971, serving in Yorkshire, Winchester, Northern Ireland, Worcestershire, London, the Isle of Wight and Surrey.

These postings were followed by a short spell working for the Security Policy Division at the Home Office, before he took his final role as governor at Oxford Prison.

He took over at an unsettling time, which had seen the departure of the previous governor after a ten-month stint in charge and the death of the prison's deputy, Ted Higgins.

And in a bold move, he appointed the prison's first woman as his deputy governor, Linda Hawes.

Following the prison's closure in 1995, Mr Talbot went on to hold a non-academic post for a number of years at Oxford University's Museum of the History of Science.

Derek Connelly, a former prison officer who worked at Oxford Prison, said Mr Talbot's death was a great loss.

He said: "John was a real gentleman to work with. Some governors were hard and harsh people that you couldn't really talk to. But I got on with John very well, he was a kind man and would make time for people."

Mr Talbot had a lifelong interest in railway signalling, a subject which he researched widely and on which he was an acknowledged expert.

Mr Connelly said: "He had a great love of signal boxes and would spend a great deal of time in different signal boxes around the country."

Mr Talbot's health had been in decline in the past few years, and following a short stay in the John Radcliffe Hospital, he died on November 2.

His friend, Richard Pullyen, said: "John was a real gentleman in every sense of the word. He was a kind and sensitive man, always ready to lend a hand and generous with his help to his friends."