I met Derek through my sons friendship with Jamie at school, which led to us both assisting with the management of their football team. Derek was a very likeable man and although our association was just with the boys football (and perhaps our questionable dedication to Pompey) it was easy to see why this man will now leave a big void in the lives of those who knew him. It was via Derek that I managed to secure tickets for the Portsmouth Cup Final match at Wembley and I will never forget those nervous moments at that pub outside the stadium waiting for Derek to appear with the tickets. He had detoured from his journey to Wembley to travel across London to pick them up for me, a testament to the kind of man he was. I'll always remember that smiling bearded face coming towards me; greetings over he said 'I suppose you want these' and produced the tickets. That was, apart from my family, the nearest I have come to kissing a man! I know as a family you will all feel very proud to have had time with a really lovely man of principles and integrity who was so obviously loved by many. God bless you all and help you get through this difficult time. Kevin, Francine and the Reid family