A parish rector has led tributes to
a west Kent man killed in the Haiti earthquake.

Reverend Noel McConachie (pictured
below right) praised West Peckham man and British UN worker
Frederick Wooldridge (pictured left) as a "true Englishman"
who was "determined to make the world a better place."

Mr Wooldridge had been working in
Haiti as a political affairs and planning officer since 2007, but
often returned home to visit and was well known in the village.

Rev McConachie said: "He came back two
or three times a year and was last back at Christmas for a surprise
visit. He got married last May, so he was enjoying life as one
would expect from a newly-married man. He was full of the joys of
living."

Rev McConachie had spoken to the
41-year-old's family to express his and the parish’s
condolences.

He described them as a farming family,
of "good English stock" and Christian values, who had been in the
village for generations.

Mr Wooldridge regularly attended St
Dunstan’s church when he returned home, and was devoted to helping
others through his work, said the Rector.

"The work he was doing was Frederick,"
said Rev McConachie, "I’ve known him for 16 years and he’s worked
abroad for all the time I’ve known him.

"He had the
interests of people very much at heart. He spoke of how poor the
people were and how eager he was to make a difference to their
standard of living. He entered into the job with his whole heart
and soul.

"He was a true Englishman in the best
sense of the word. He was determined to make the world a better
place; to ensure fairness to all people and turn away no person in
distress."

News of Mr Wooldridge’s death had been
received with "dismay and shock" and affected everyone in the
village, said the Rector.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown also paid
tribute to Mr Wooldridge and said he was hugely grateful for the
work he did.