This isn't so much a story as a tribute to David who I was lucky to have had as a friend, mentor and boss. He was an immense influence on me first as a boss where he led by example, managed people without instilling stress and fear, allowed them to flourish and always with his great sense of humour. A calming voice in many a storm, he created an exceptional team at DLA. I'm not sure if he deliberately mentored me because it was so effortless but I learnt an incredible amount from him and hope that to some degree I was able to emulate him in every role I have been in. As a friend he was always there and there was nothing better than our weekly "debriefs" in All Bar One in Sheffield most Friday evenings which were open to all. We always remained in touch and had regular phone or video calls with Martin Wright and Mike Pretty. I will miss him very much but will always have such great memories.

A couple of stories spring to mind. The first was when we were confined to our hotel rooms during a top secret due diligence exercise and got so bored we ended up playing football in my room. The second was one evening when we were having a quiet drink after work and a guy dressed up as Elvis Presley started pointing at us and shouting to the rest of the pub that David and I were undercover police.