Dead at 88, the man who sold us charity shops

Joe Mitty, who worked for the organisation for 33 years, earned the nickname 'salesman on the side of angels' after becoming its first employee in 1949.

At Oxfam's founding store in Oxford, he was responsible for distributing clothes to Europeans left in poverty after the Second World War.

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However, he soon realised he could sell supporters' donations on the High Street rather than trading them overseas - a radical idea at the time, but one which has today has given rise to a booming charity shop retail sector.

Yesterday, Mr Mitty's son Roger, 62, said: "My father was a remarkable man and we are all devastated.

"He was dedicated to Oxfam volunteers and after he stopped working in the shop would attend shop openings and talk to managers to encourage them.

"I and my brother Andrew were both with him when he died. We are both immensely proud of him and could not have wished for a better father."

Oxfam director Barbara Stocking said: "Joe changed the world forever and for the better.

He described himself as a little old man, but he was truly a giant among men.

Without Joe, Oxfam would not be the organisation it is today.

He was one of the forefathers of Britain's now vibrant charity sector and I am sure the legacy of his work will continue for many years to come.

"His death is a great loss to Oxfam and to the world, but his life should be a beacon to everyone."

Mr Mitty began working in Oxfam's first shop in Broad Street, Oxford, on November 9, 1949.

Armed with the motto, 'If you donate it, we can sell it', he sold everything from a live donkey to the gold wire from used false teeth.

At the end of the year, the branch had made £500 and by 1953 was bringing in more than £10,000.

By 1971, Oxfam was a household name, with a chain of shops generating £1million.

Celebrities including Harry Secombe, Laurence Olivier and the Beatles were all called in to help publicise the charity's work.

In 2002, Mr Mitty told shop managers: "I was a sort of Christopher Columbus of the 1940s.

"I had no idea how to price things and when. But I had two words - rage, and passion.

"Rage because of the inequality and injustice in the world, and a passion to do something about it."

After his retirement in 1982, he continued to inspire Oxfam's 20,000 volunteers who run its 700 shops in the UK. He was awarded an MBE for his services to charity in 2003.