Bermudians paid tribute yesterday to former Governor Sir Desmond Langley — a man as comfortable in the bars of Court Street as the elite clubs of Front Street.

Sir Desmond, who was Governor of Bermuda from 1988-1992, was in his late 70s and succumbed to cancer yesterday morning.

His former aide-de-camp Larry Mussenden was full of praise for Sir Desmond.

He said: "He was an inspirational person. I served with him as his ADC for about 18-20 months.

"I had an absolutely magnificent time with both him and Lady Langley."

Mr. Mussenden described Sir Desmond as someone who could fit in wherever he went.

"He could go from the Yacht Club and the Dinghy Club right round to Swinging Doors," he said. "He was so much fun."

He said when Swinging Doors had finished a renovation they invited Sir Desmond to the opening.

And when Sir Desmond made his final journey from the Cabinet Office back to Government House, prior to leaving Bermuda, he diverted the procession down Court Street to stop in at Swinging Doors.

"It ended up as a huge party. The Bermuda Regiment came down."

Mr. Mussenden said Sir Desmond had supported young people, the elderly and the arts during his time in Bermuda. And he said Sir Desmond had been instrumental in helping him studying law in England.

"I spent many a weekend at their house, gardening around their house."

Born in London in 1930, Sir Desmond was educated at Eton and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and had a distinguished army career that took him to Germany, Aden, Egypt, Cyprus, Malaya, as well as Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

In 1979 he became Brigadier General Staff in the Headquarters of the United Kingdom Land Forces.

During his four years here Sir Desmond, who had attained the rank of Major General, spent considerable time with the Bermuda Regiment and also was keen on links with the other services.

He once earned rare praise from Home Affairs Minister Sen. David Burch who described Sir Desmond as "the best Governor we have had in my lifetime".

Yesterday Sen. Burch said: "Sir Desmond was a consummate soldier and a great supporter of the Bermuda Regiment.

"He was a Commander in Chief par excellence and contributed greatly to the development of many of the men and officers of the Regiment. He never lost interest in his Regiment even after he had left Bermuda."

Former Cabinet Secretary John Drinkwater, who was coordinator of security services when Sir Desmond was here, said: "He had the ability to get on with everybody, as most soldiers do.

"I thought he was very good, he had a good understanding of Bermuda and its people and he used his military experience for the betterment of the Bermuda Regiment."

Sir Desmond also hosted a summit between US president George Bush and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher which was followed by a summit between President Bush and Mrs. Thatcher's successor John Major.

And Sir Desmond intervened when Troy Shorter was sentenced to hang after being convicted of the July 1986 murder of Hayward's Supermarket Roger Redman who was shot in the back of the head with a handgun during a hold-up.

His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in March 1989 by Sir Desmond who also stopped triple murderer Leroy Dunlop from going to the gallows.

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown said: "There are times that one does not participate in the personal history of another, however, that does not prevent us from experiencing the impact the person has made, which can be felt far beyond their passing.

"From all I have been told, Sir Desmond was such a person and it is noteworthy that he served our Island as an officer, a gentleman and a diplomat of distinction. These are the things that are especially remembered and respected today."

Governor Sir Richard Gozney said Government House will be liaising with the late Governor Langley's family and many friends in Bermuda about the possibility of a memorial service. It is thought that the funeral will take place on March 7 in Hampshire, England near Sir Desmond's Liphook home.

Sir Desmond leaves his wife Lady Felicity Joan Langley (nee Oliphant) whom he married in 1950 and one son and one daughter.