BOURNEMOUTH University's oldest graduate has died, three years after picking up a masters degree in tourism and hospitality management.

Grandfather Harry Cracknell, described as "a true gentleman" by his family and friends, became an advocate of lifelong learning at the age of 88 when he attended the university awards ceremony with author Bill Bryson.

It was not the first time Mr Cracknell, who had returned to his studies after a quadruple bypass operation, had donned gown and cap to collect an honour at Bournemouth University.

In 2002 he gained a BA degree in international hospitality management after completing the course part-time in just two years.

The hotel and catering industry's elder statesman had worked in the kitchens of some of the country's top hotels including the Dorchester and Savoy in London.

He joined the staff of the university on the day it opened, first as a catering production manager and then as a part-time lecturer, which sparked his interest in going back to the classroom.

In 1979 Mr Cracknell and another lecturer at what was then the Dorset Institute of Higher Education published a new and complete English translation of Auguste Escoffier's Guide Culinaire, described as the modern guide to the art of cookery.

The publication was given a three-page review in the Caterer and Hotel Keeper trade magazine, and compared to a new translation of the Bible. Escoffier, the most famous chef who ever lived, was a former head chef at London's Savoy hotel.

In 1991, actor Edward Fox spent an afternoon drinking tea in Mr Cracknell's Talbot Woods garden during a fund-raising garden party.

Mr Cracknell, who died at his home on March 14 aged 91, enjoyed a spell as a TV chef, appearing on Woman's Hour during the 1960s.

He is survived by his wife Myrtle. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.