As the allegations swirl regarding Ted Heath here is his obituary from the Journal on July 21, 2005, written by Jill Harding

FORMER prime minister Sir Edward Heath, who lived in Salisbury’s Cathedral Close for almost 20 years, passed away peacefully at his home, Arundells, on Sunday evening, surrounded by close friends.

He had celebrated his 89th birthday with a small party just a week earlier.

From humble beginnings as a carpenter’s son in Broadstairs, Sir Edward entered parliament as a Conservative MP in 1950 and became prime minister 20 years later.

He was instrumental in taking Britain into Europe but his four years in office were plagued by industrial unrest.

After asking the country “Who governs Britain?” (the government or the unions), he lost the 1974 election to the Labour party under Harold Wilson, the same man he had defeated four years earlier.

Sir Edward was replaced as Tory leader a year later by Margaret Thatcher but he always resented being ousted and refused to serve in her cabinet.

Despite their lengthy feud, Sir Edward remained in politics, representing the constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup until 2001, when he retired as the longest-serving MP.

He moved to Salisbury in 1985, after his parliamentary private secretary, Salisbury MP Robert Key, had told him that Arundells, a house partly dating from 1280, had become available in the Cathedral Close.

Sir Edward had visited Salisbury in 1938, when he wrote and performed the music for a production by the Oxford University Balliol Players, and said he had instantly fallen in love with the city.

He soon became a popular resident of The Close and regularly hosted parties and gatherings at his home.

The large garden at Arundells was one of his many passions and his trusty gardener would follow through his ideas for the great swathe of open space stretching down to the River Avon.

He was immensely proud of his view of the cathedral and loved going to the Sunday morning service there.

He conducted a number of concerts to raise money for the Spire Appeal.

St Mary’s Church, at Milston, also benefited from his generosity, when he played the organ to boost its fundraising efforts, and he supported events for Salisbury Hospice and the National Art Collection Funds, when he opened his home and garden to visitors.

Sir Edward, who was knighted in 1992, was often spotted in Salisbury’s shops and he liked to visit the market and talk to stallholders, who called him ‘Ted’.

He was also a regular at the King’s Head, in Redlynch, which threw a party for him in 2000, to celebrate his 50 years as an MP.

Musicians from South Wilts Grammar School, in Salisbury, had the chance to visit Sir Edward’s garden when they played him a rendition of Happy Birthday on his 80th birthday.

The surprise performance was broadcast on the Channel Four programme the Big Breakfast, and the girls presented Sir Edward with a specially made card.

Sir Edward was a first-class sailor and he captained Britain’s winning Admiral’s Cup team in 1971 while he was prime minister.

He also had a lifelong love of music and in 1996 a CD was released with pieces he had conducted.

The former prime minister even signed copies for shoppers at the Virgin Megastore in the Old George Mall, Salisbury.

In his later years, Sir Edward’s health declined and friends say he never really recovered from a pulmonary embolism he suffered while on holiday in Austria in 2003.

On July 10, he managed to spend an hour with friends at his 89th birthday party, but he grew weaker in the following days and passed away on Sunday at 7.30pm.