David,
As already told, my brother from another Mother , our families met in 1965,when David’s parents stayed with us in Arnhem, where dad Bill fought in Operation Market garden ,or for the younger ones among us, A bridge too far.
 
We became friends, more family.. my brother Peter went on trips with him ,I do not know what they were doing but , they always came back laughing and one time they had a small encounter with a Belgian car, in Belgium. Both thought it was quite funny ,so I still wonder who was in the other car.
When I turned 16 I was allowed to go to Shipley where the family lived, on my OWN on the Ferry to Hull, where Bill and Jenny picked me up.
In the evening David returned from work.. what a shock… handsome, tall guy! I did not see that two years before, so I was quite happy that he wanted to take me out, but being so young, I might not be allowed in the nightclub! So he told me to get tarted up…. I knew what a tart was.. and was hurt until he explained what he meant! Great experience a nightclub where Johnny Mathis sang!
Although I can make myself understood in the English language, that trip taught me a lot of new things. I did sleep on top of David, too much worry of David’s parents! Fortunately I could explain that I meant the room above him.
The families kept in close contact, and all of a sudden David said he met the love of his life, in the train of all places. And within no time we met Catherine, and her lovely family. Anthony and Maureen and their girls all with incredible smiles! I know that because I stayed with them, sorry Gemma, you were kicked out of your room because of me. Our friendship got to another level, David and Cath moved to N.Z. And what do you do when you have a week’s holiday? Hop on an airplane and visit them! I worked for KLM so that could be done…but I did not inform them I was coming, telephone was way too expensive, telegram? No, I just called them from the airport, and they acted like it was quite the thing to do! Within the shortest time they were there! I loved those happy and worryless times, visited them of course in Australia several times sometimes with our family sometimes on my own.
David and his brother Bill visited us some years ago and it was very good to have them both with us, they liked our pub the spotted horse, although at first we did not know what they meant, but they just translated the name of the pub. Hilarious.. They were a pair of naughty boys, these brothers of mine. Stories they told…meeting in a pub, where else, two good looking ladies, offered them a drink and were told to piss off, because one was proposing to the other! Just paid for the drinks and the ladies were happily kissing each other.
Brother Bill still lives in Auckland with his wife Cheryl and they are very sad not to be able to be here on this day, but they know David would want us to celebrate his life .
So my dear Catherine and Nina, David is not here anymore, but as long as we speak and think about him he is in our hearts.