To Cath & kids,

Like many others who’ve left their messages, and hundreds who won’t get the opportunity, I wanted to share with you that it was an absolute pleasure to work with David and an honour get to know him on a personal level too.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you, the wider family and his close friends.

David was often talked about in passing across the corridors of Capita HQ, largely because we all thought he was a diamond of an individual, a great man, who everybody loved being around as he was always such great company.  Sadly, we never told him, as like most blokes who’re hugely respected, the de facto position is trading insults or banter as a subterfuge for admiration.  We’d often clam-up quickly if he unexpectedly appeared whilst we were singing his praises, only for him to accuse us of keeping ‘intel’ (gossip) from him, which he didn’t like one bit!

His intellect, wit and charisma shone bright over and above most people, much of which is covered by others in their messages, non more so than Jonathan Bennett’s where he highlights David’s mantra; ‘Being a dad is your main job and work is a hobby’, this is something that will stick with me for life.

One story I should share, is the time David split his trousers, making them unwearable 45 minutes before going in to present to the Executive Committe.  He sprinted down the road to buy a new pair at Next on Oxford St. and after successfully buying a replacement, came back to the office sharing his mishap and then proceeding to mimic how he split them, only for his new ones to split too!  Thankfully, this was only a minor tear and unnoticeable in the end, although the look on his face when we heard the rip was priceless.

God bless David x