A former housemaster and head of English at Eton College has been appointed as the new Vice Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire.

He is Jeffrey Branch, 71, who lives in Maidenhead.

Mr Branch, who is married to Penelope, was recommended for the post by the county’s Lord Lieutenant James Puxley who he will be assisting.

He is a Justice of the Peace and was chairman of the East Berkshire Magistrates Bench from 2005 to 2007 as well as being active nationally in the Magistrates’ Association.

On the artistic side Mr Branch has some impressive credentials. He is a past chairman of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s Decorative and Fine Arts Society and belongs to the Berkshire Art Fund Committee.

He is an active member of the Windsor and District Macmillan Cancer Support Committee, a Trustee of Slough Town Hall Trust and a lay steward at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

The post of Vice Lord Lieutenant is a relatively new one. It was introduced in 1882.A former housemaster and head of English at Eton College has been appointed as the new vice Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire.

It means that Mr Branch will assist the Lord Lieutenant James Puxley in his many ceremonial and official duties which include attending the Queen, members of the Royal Family and visiting heads of state during visits to the county and making the arrangements for their visits.