I wanted to get the ball rolling in sharing memories of Dad. It is really hard not to be able to see all the friends and family at this time that would allow for the many stories about Dad to be shared in a more natural way, but a benefit of this, is that we have a place we are able to go back to and read at any time. If it is one word or thousand, I massively appreciate any memories anyone is willing to share.

Thank you.

Dad was his happiest when he was helping others. His children, Cubs, Colgate, church or friends and family. If anyone asked for help he would be the first to volunteer. He taught me to not only do what was asked, but also find out what else I could do to help further.

As a teenager I asked him "why do you always volunteer, why not just let other people do it?"  He replied "you never know, it might be good!". That stuck with me and after dinner at the next scout camp, a leader asked for a volunteer so I raised my hand. The leader, to my delight asked me to eat the remaining piece of pudding. When they asked for another volunteer, the reward this time was less of a treat, it was the washing up.

I have endless examples of Dad supporting me. He has helped me move house many times and when I moved into a shared house at university, not only did he do the heavy lifting but also made a to-scale model of the room so we could work out the optimal furniture configuration. Furthermore, he used his network of friends to source all the furniture that not just I required but a number of additional items for my grateful housemates.

When Adele and I bought our first house he took two weeks off work to help us renovate it. This was hard work and stressful but he let us do it our way and make our own mistakes. At the end of each day he would always make sure we were happy before he left.

Tabby and Jemima's favourite memory of Grandad is him pushing them home from daycare in a double buggy when, to their continuous laughter, he kept asking whether he should crash into a tree which he would then pretend to do. 

I will miss so much his sense of silliness. The pretend cough he would do every time you gave him a hug, when reading a story to Tabby and Jemima how he would change the characters' names to theirs, sugar sandwiches and one knee, two knee.

There are so many 'I wish I could have had one more time' but mainly I am so thankful for the times we had. We said it to each other often, and I know he knew, but I have to say it again, I love you Dad and will miss you forever. Xx