One of Britain’s best-loved cartoonists has died. Gren, whose work appeared in the South Wales Echo for almost 40 years, brilliantly captured the essence of South Wales. The BBC reported on his death at the age of 72 with some examples of his work. Roy Greenslade in his Guardian blog quotes former Echo editor Geoff Rich: "He didn’t … reflect the character of Wales, he didn’t report it, he was the character of Wales".

Like all great cartoonists, Gren was far more than a comedian who could draw. His insights into Welsh (and British) life, politics and sport were inspired, saying far more in a cartoon than a columnist’s 1,000 words. He was on fine form during the Falklands war in 1982, illustrating the row between the BBC and the Thatcher government over reporting the conflict. He had a vision of the Argentinian dictator on the Jimmy Young radio show: "And in the tradition of BBC’s balanced news coverage, today in the JY Prog we have jolly old Galtieri…" He gently mocked Welsh councils’ nuclear free zones with a sign at the Severn Bridge asking visitors to leave their nuclear bombs with the doorman.

My parents knew Gren well, from my father’s days running PR for Cardiff City Council and South Glamorgan. The cartoonist came to dinner with us in the mid 1970s, when his portrayals of Welsh rugby’s golden age gave him a fame beyond Cardiff and the valleys. I loved his impression of the old Cardiff Arms Park on international day on the sleeve of comedian Max Boyce’s album We’ve all had doctors’ papers. Gren added a personal touch to my copy that evening: a man in Gren’s signature style with placard calling on the selectors to "Pick Robert for Wales now, aye!" It was never going to happen – I was never any good at rugby – but it was typical of Gren’s kindness. Nearly 30 years later, he drew the cartoons for my father Bob Skinner’s book, Don’t hold the front page!

Gren, we’ll miss you and your gentle but brilliant humour.