My father, Brian Grace, who has died aged 88, overcame early disadvantages to forge a life revolving around his family, his work as an engineering inspector, and the betting shop – not always in that order.

The son of Fred Grace, a bus driver with London Transport, and Lillian (nee Turpin), an advertising model, Brian was born in Battersea, south-west London, with disabilities that required a series of operations on his leg and foot.