TO commemorate the late Prince Philip, who passed away last month, Ealing Borough's archivist, Dr Jonathan Oates, looks at three known times the Duke of Edinburgh visited Ealing.

His last known visit was over four decades ago, in 1979, when he opened the new wing of an old people's home on Eaton Rise in Ealing Broadway, called Cecil Court.

Nearly 20 years prior to that, in 1960, the Duke visited the Tin Research Institute in Perivale.

He visited the laboratories and workshops and would ask for a full technical description of the demonstrations he saw.

According to Dr Oates: "The Duke wanted to know all the whys and wherefores, revealing his insatiable thirst for knowledge.

"At the same time, he showed an interest in the staff."

Going back another three years, in 1957, Prince Philip went to the A.E.C. Works in Southall.

He saw how the buses were built up to the stage that the body needed to be added.

Dr Oates said: "He toured the vast factory, spoke to men at work in the many shops and captivated everyone with his charm, thorough questions and his obvious interest."

He was even asked if he would like to drive a single decker bus but declined as he argued it was 'too cold'.

As he left to go to the Royal Vehicles in Park Royal, 4,500 men and women cheered as they were seeing him off.

At the Royal Vehicles, he saw both the bodies of buses and military equipment being made.

Dr Oates commented: "As in the morning (A.E.C. Works in Southall), he impressed everyone with his knowledge of the materials in use and once again occasionally side-tracked the prepared route to have a chat with workers."

Prince Philip sadly passed away on April 9 at the age of 99, but his everlasting legacy will live on both in Ealing and around the country.