District Dave

[Ben]

I can't really add more to whats been said. The crem. was packed, as was the venue afterwards. Indeed we only left there about an hour ago! But as I said a few times whilst there, what better tribute could any man ask for than the sight of just how many people his life and death has brought together, and indeed has yet to bring together. An extraordinary day, and the warmth of his family was obvious to all.

Green and pleasant land indeed

God bless, Dave.

[AlanL]

Glad he got the send-off he deserved. Thanks for letting us know how it went.
I was gutted that I couldn't get down personally but work and finances prevented it, but I had a few minutes of silence and reflection at 1.15pm.

[mrfs42]

It was quite simply the most powerful and heartfelt rendition of 'Jerusalem' I have ever heard.

A truly apt and fitting send off to a much-missed person; summed up in the closing words of the service:

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive
and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways,
body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming
WOO HOO what a ride!

Hunter S. Thompson, I think.

Goodbye Dave.

[jsp3970]

I just heard about this and am sorry to hear the sad news.

RIP

[pacific]

R.I.P.

Thank you Dave for creating such an awesome and informative site and community.

[tubeprune]

This is a message from Val, Dave's widow:

Chris and I were completely overwhelmed on Monday by the number of Dave’s friends and colleagues who came along to his funeral. We felt it was a real tribute to him that so many were able to be there. I wish I could have met and thanked everyone personally.

We, and his family have been so touched by all the tributes on the Forum as well as the donations to his favourite charity, Help for Heroes. The kindness and depth of feeling is very moving.

It was also nice to see some of the photos of ‘the other Dave’ posted, and the picture of him driving in #158 is very special because of course it’s Dave as I never saw him.

So on behalf of Dave’s family and myself, thank you all so much.

With best wishes

Val

[electra]

(I've only just picked on this very sad news)

RIP Dave

[londonboy]

Nice gesture from the company to mention Dave and also The "District Dave Underground" site on the weekly company email (Including a link to the site) I thought the comments from Dave's Managers were also very nice too, for non staff members they mentioned how they would consult with Dave about a number of things because in a nutshell he knew everything there was to know about the District Line
Just goes to show how well liked he was at work as well as on here too.

R.I.P Dave

[alantan]

So saddened to read of Dave's passing. Dave has left a legacy for all of us and touched all of our lives with this forum. Rest in peace, you will be missed by many.

Even though I never met him or really talked to him on the forum, from wat people have said, he sounds really nice. Would have loved to meet him. And if he created this site and his blog, he must have really loved his job. Some people that work for TfL should pick up on that (C11 bus drivers, I'm talking to you)

R.I.P. Dave

[josephbevan96]

This is very sad news indeed... My condolences are here: josephleebevan.blogspot.com/2011/03/golf.html which links to: london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/03/rip-district-dave.html

Apr 9, 2011 11:42:48 GMT @younglulnerd said:

But seriously, even though I never met him or really talked to him on the forum, from what people have said, he sounds really nice. Would have loved to meet him. And if he created this site and his blog, he must have really loved his job. Some people that work for TfL should pick up on that (C11 bus drivers, I'm talking to you)

R.I.P. Dave

Going off-topic but I'm not sure people should be expected to love their job, even if "DD" (whom I never consciously met) did.

For many people a job is just a job, nothing more or less, although they should do it to the best of their ability and not allow any dislike to affect their performance (not always easy).

In the transport world most employees will not be enthusiasts and will probably have little real interest in the subject after working hours.

Indeed being an enthusiast can be a disadvantage as I have known people whose whole attitude has changed because the Routemasters (or even trolleybuses!) were withdrawn, or they were forced to go OPO, or were privatised and kicked out of the LT pension fund etc etc.

Even on LU there are some people who have never forgiven "management" for imposing OPO, or Company Plan; and if they have a love of the system, of historic rolling stocks (will include A Stock soon), or time-honoured ways of working; then this can focus a resentment out of all proportion at times.

(It's interesting that nobody ever slagged-off the 9-Point Plan, which was an LT-wide early 1970s initiative, because that improved pay and conditions right across the combine at a time of extreme staff shortage. The only "losers" appeared to be staff who were on the cusp of 25 years service, whereupon they got sick pay, only to find the qualification period suddenly drop to 3 years!)

I know some of these people - indeed I probably see one in the mirror on occasions. The point is, having a great love of your work in the transport industry isn't always such a good idea long-term.

Mind you I"m sure "DD" never suffered from this and rose to all changes and challenges willingly.

Mod EDIT to reflect poster's changes to quote

Also just found that Dave drove the train in the Video 125 District and East London Lines video. Don't know if this has been posted here before, so for those who want to know, he did the Richmond to Upminister, and it says that he drove it in the video, and it costs £20 from the Video 125 website.

[Phil]

Apr 13, 2011 8:24:53 GMT @younglulnerd said:

Also just found that Dave drove the train in the Video 125 District and East London Lines video. Don't know if this has been posted here before

Yes it has - several times .

[KentuckyFriedTony]

And, as he himself mentioned in another thread, he provided technical information for the video.
districtdave.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=district&action=display&thread=15441