Trevor, that is a lovely tribute and from someone who knew him personally I can say he was certainly a "character". Dave was always good value for a laugh at away games and made a cracking double act with Bob!
It is a shame he stopped going to football but I understand his reasons for giving it all up...And for those reasons he probably would have hated the Amex and the corporate being the Albion have now become.
Thank you to everyone for your lovely messages of support and personal memories of Dave. I wondered whether or not to post it, but am glad I did. As I am sure you can understand, I have a lot on my plate at the moment, but I will PM everyone who knew him with details of the "funeral" (in keeping with my brother's approach to life, it won't be quite that conventional) once I have finalised arrangements.
Trevor this is desperate news, and i am so sorry to wake up to hear this.
Your brother was indeed one of a kind and I knew him not only watching the Albion but at Royal Mail in North Road where his "character" was no less well appreciated.
Last week I was sorting out some old stuff, like you do, and a photo of Dave fell out of an old book. He is standing in the pouring rain outside the FA at Lancaster Gate in 1997. There is one of the plastic banners spread out on the pavement and we spent the morning berating the blazers and the suits as they went about their business apologising for their inability to turf out the evil empire. This may have been the day I got Steve Double to buy lunch. Dave had a tupperware dish full of nuts and vegetables.
We spent several hours together on similar protests, Several happy hours.
Sorry to hear of your loss. What a fantastic tribute to your brother, who sounds like what many of us would aspire to be - a true football fan with passion for the club in the good and the bad times. I hope your many positive memories of him get you through the difficult days ahead.
Such sad news, I travelled the length and breadth of the country with Dave and his pots of hummus watching the Albion during our darker years.
Plenty of debate in the car ranging from music to politics
We used to create Focus dis-loyalty cards and then fill our trollies with as much stuff as possible, ring it through the till then hand over our dis-loyalty card before running out. Childish but highly amusing.
I also travelled to Darlington away by helicopter with Dave and other friends.
Dave was a top bloke and made a real difference in our years fighting against Archer.
I last saw Dave about 2009 in the Duke Of Yorks cinema I had no idea he was ill.
Heartfelt condolences. A very tough time for you and your family. We are literally as I type driving back to Brighton after burying my Brother yesterday aged only 39 years so I really do sympathise with you. All the very best mate.
I'm so sorry to read that. May he rest in peace. I have suffered depression and so have some of my family, you are right, it's often misunderstood. It sounds as though he was a great fan, one of the best
I started watching the Albion in 96/97 at the age of 7. It was people like your brother who made me realise the importance of the club and its place in the community. Even though I didn't know him, I'll be forever grateful.