David William West

Some of my happiest childhood memories are in the back of Uncle David’s car (or the boot with Matt and the dogs if especially lucky!) on our way to another adventure. Helping him fly model planes was a particular honour, although I am not sure what help I was really.
Uncle David was exceptionally kind and generous - he bought all the sparkling wine for my wedding - but most importantly for a child he treated me as if I were already grown up. He would seek my opinions on wine, cheese, food as if they really mattered. This was magical. He was just the same with my children, helping Isabelle learn how to ride her “quad bike” (another gift) and seating James on his motorcycle. He was sometimes befuddled by games - none of us will ever forget who invented the jet engine - but always (mostly) able to laugh at himself. He was one of my very favourite people and I am so sad that he is gone, though very happy that he did not suffer too long.

Memories of David West

When my family and I visited David and Joan in July/August 2005, I was awestruck by David. He took my son (Daniel) and I into his garage and showed the progression of the plane he was building, which he was doing in his garage! Then he showed us his motorbikes in the shed next to the garage. His engineering skill and creative mind always captivated me. On another occasion, when Daniel was about 8 years old, I remember David introducing him to air rifle shooting. David took us into the back garden and ‘let Daniel loose’ in shooting. Then there was the time that David gave Daniel a Swiss pocket knife. Joan saw it and said ‘did you just give him my knife!’ When we got home we needed to ‘confiscate’ the knife after a few weeks, as Daniel was doing carving on his bedroom furniture!

David was an inspiration and will be deeply missed.