ONE of Balliol College's most dedicated servants was chosen to perform a tree-planting ceremony in March 1979.

76-year-old porter Bert Blagrove was offered the chance to plant the oak, after three years of deciding where the tree would go.

College Fellow John Prest said: "We did consider asking the Chancellor of the University.

"But we decided Bert had probably had less practice at planting trees and that he would love to do it.

"There could not be a more devoted person to do the job."

Mr Blagrove had been a porter at the college since 1946, and as a single man had regarded Balliol as his family.

Mr Prest added: "He is the person around whom the whole college revolves.

"He knows every old member and his whole life is the college."

It took Balliol three years to decide to plant a new tree in the quadrangle, and the choice about the type of tree and its site took seven committee meetings.