Dave taught me maths in 1978, and succeeded where others had failed, not least his next-door neighbour mentioned in the eulogies, from where I was doubtless relegated. He saved my O Level maths; the first maths teacher to properly empathise with someone struggling to understand the joys of integration and suchlike, trying different ways of presenting the subject until something clicked. Good thing he never tried teaching me Rugby!
About 30 years later 1 was delighted to meet him again at the 500th anniversary celebrations, a "curry evening" at SPS as I recall. He hadn't changed much, still full of energy as I’d remembered him. I recounted that I'd gone on to pass A level maths, get a degree and become a chartered engineer working all over the world on some of the largest projects – locally on Terminal 5 at the time. I bought him a beer - or two – a ridiculously small a token for such a special teacher. RIP Dave.
