He served with Monty in the war, was a founder member of Denbigh Rugby Club and helped established the Farmers Union of Wales (FUW) in the north.
During a long and varied career he also prevented a village being flooded for a reservoir and achieved national notoriety for his role in uncovering a Soviet spy ring.
Few people have lived a life as fully as Meurig Voyle.
This morning the FUW confirmed its former county secretary had died, aged 93, at Glan Clwyd Hospital yesterday afternoon.
Mr Voyle, formerly of Colomendy, Denbigh , has been a stalwart of the union for more than 60 years, and was county secretary of the Denbigh and Flint branches from 1966-1989.
In his later years he was a resident at Llanrhaeadr Hall nursing home where, despite failing mobility, his mind remained as sharp as ever.
He once quipped he had been married twice, once to his late wife Myfanwy, and once to the FUW. “And it was my wife that got me through the second marriage,” he added.
FUW president Glyn Roberts said: “The farming world has today lost one of its biggest advocates and the FUW has lost a friend, a member of our farming family.
“He was a character like no other. Meurig will be sorely missed and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”
Originally from Llanddarog, Carmarthenshire, Meurig was born a mile away from the White Hart pub which his family had run for 300 years. His birthplace was the Prince of Wales Inn, Porthyrhyd, run by his father after lung problems forced him to give up his job as a colliery fireman, aged just 39.
In his youth he played hooker for his local team, going on to be a founder member of Clwb Rygbi Dinbych, whom he continued to follow avidly into his dotage.
He was also a founder member of Dyffryn Towy young farmers , where he first met his wife Myfanwy. They met again in London when he was in the Royal Artillery and she was a nurse, and dated after a chance encounter on an Underground escalator.
After WW11, when he rose to the rank of Corporal and received a Field Marshall Montgomery Certificate, he joined the Milk Marketing Board before beginning his long association with the FUW in 1960.
He also found time to serve as secretary of the Gwendreath Fach Valley defence committee when Swansea Corporation wanted to flood the village of Porthyrhyd for a reservoir.
After a lengthy battle the protesters won and in 2013 the village held a week-long celebration to mark 50 years since the victory.
In 1966 he was “parachuted” into Denbighshire to help the FUW cement its foothold in North Wales 11 years after the union’s foundation.
In the 1980s Meurig won the FUW massive publicity when one of his local members discovered a radio transmitter buried on his land near Llanrhaeadr y Mochnant.
It turned out to be a Soviet transmitter – four Soviet diplomats had stayed in a hotel in Llanrhaeadr the year before.
Meurig informed the authorities, but only after tipping off the media and conducting interviews with them before a police officer arrived to collect it. The four diplomats were later among over 90 expelled for spying.
It wasn’t his only encounter with the police. Once, he was surprised to receive a visit from officers inquiring about his involvement with Meibion Glyndwr, proudly admitting to being its chairman.
Further clarification revealed he was a founder member of a Welsh society in Denbigh called Meibion Glyndwr .
The group subsequently changed its name to Meibion Caledfryn to avoid confusion with the Welsh anarchist group that was setting fire to second homes at the time.
Journalist and PR boss Ceidiog Hughes paid tribute to a man he first met as a fledgling reporter in Denbigh before developing a life-long friendship.
“He was one of the most remarkable men I have ever met,” he said.
“Every time he went into a room he filled it with his personality and wit.
“But he was also a very sharp operator. When he first took on the FUW’s county role in Denbigh, it was a tough gig as the NFU was so dominant at the time, but he changed that very quickly.”
Mr Voyle was a deacon at Capel Mawr, in Denbigh, for 55 years before resigning over the Presbyterian Church of Wales' stance on blessing civil partnerships.
Even in his dotage he was still campaigning, taking Barclays Bank to task for failing to provide Welsh language statements at its ATM cashpoints.
In his trademark panama hat he was also part of the furniture at the Royal Welsh Show, taking a seat at the entrance to the FUW pavilion and greeting visitors for 53 years.
During 1991 he was honoured to the Ovate Order of the Orsedd at the National Eisteddfod at Mold as Meurig o Fyrddin.
With Myfanwy he had three children – Rhian, Sharon and Huw – and five grandchildren.
For his 90th birthday, he received 146 cards. One of them said simply, “Thanks for getting me into farming in 1967.”
