A RETIRED Hampshire churchman's second career as a writer continues to blossom with the publication of his latest book.

The Very Reverend Trevor Beeson has revealed he is the author of most of the clerical obituaries in the Daily Telegraph.

He has written some 800 obituaries in the last 14 years and now some of the most interesting have been gathered together in a new book.

He said: "I was a bit reluctant at the start because the first one I wrote was of my predecessor as Dean, Michael Stancliffe. The idea was to be candid without being unkind. But I have enjoyed it very much.

"They were written anonymously but now so many people know I do them that I might as well have a book with my name on it. I think they are quite an interesting portrait of the lives of the kind of people who become priests.

"Doing it has reinforced my view of what a rich tapestry there is and a great variety of saint and stupidity.

"There have been some complaints but not too many," said Mr Beeson, who stressed it was important to tell the truth.

He rejects the saying 'do not speak ill of the dead', "because its acceptance can only lead to dishonesty and also because it is singularly unhelpful to others."

He laments the decline in individuality as the Church becomes more organised and less attractive to people who might be thought of as eccentric.

Several priests with Hampshire connections feature in the book, including Rev Wilbert Awdry, the Ampfield-born priest who wrote the Thomas the Tank Engine stories; Rev Christopher Gray, Gosport-born and Winchester College-educated, who was murdered in Liverpool in 1996, aged just 32; and Bishop John Taylor, the former Bishop of Winchester, who died last year.

Mr Beeson, 76, of Greatbridge Road, Romsey, was Dean of Winchester Cathedral from 1987-1996 and before that was chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Since retirement he has written several acclaimed books including A Dean's Diary: Winchester 1987-1996, Window on Westminster and Rebels and Reformers.

The new book, Priests and Prelates is published by Continuum and costs £16.99.