Last week saw the untimely deaths from cancer of two men who contributed significantly to British life, albeit in completely different ways.

Tim Garden – Air Marshal Lord Garden – was the Liberal Democrats’ defence spokesperson in the House of Lords, and his distinguished service in the RAF and at the Ministry of Defence gave real credibility to the party on defence issues. In 2004, the same year he became a life peer, Tim contributed his knowledge to the BBC series Crisis Command, acting as one of the contestants’ expert advisers. I met him once, briefly, in a packed lift at party conference in Harrogate. Sadly, I didn’t engage him in deep conversation about the threat of terrorism in the modern world or post-Cold War international relations; rather, we shared a joke about the maximum number of people the lift claimed to be able to carry.

Tim’s contributions as a member of the House of Lords were invaluable, both to the party and to the country, and he will be greatly missed. Fellow LibDem blogger Jonathan Fryer has written Tim’s obituary for The Guardian, and there are tributes in the comments on Lib Dem Voice.

Tony Wilson, the entrepreneur, TV and radio presenter, Ha&ccdeil;ienda manager, founder of Factory Records and journalist labelled Mr Manchester, died last Friday. Immortalised by Steve Coogan in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, Wilson was a genuine character whose promotion of bands – and of Manchester itself – contributed to the success (give or take some dubious business decisions) of acts like Joy Division and the Happy Mondays. His most significant cultural impact may have been in the late 80s and early 90s, but he continued to pop up on radio, film and television and his death is a sad loss.

There is an obituary on the BBC website. YouTube has various clips (including Tony Wilson Meets God from 24HPP). Here’s a section from the 2002 Granada Documentary That Tony Wilson: