Dave passed away on 20th May at Ballina, Northern NSW having lived there for approx. 25 years. He played clarinet with the Ballina Shire Band until 6 months before his death, and was a dedicated volunteer to all the district school bands, repairing the kids' instruments for over 20 years.

I was at a concert around 10 years ago when a little girl from the Primary School Band came up to him crying. Someone had sat on her clarinet and it snapped in two. He just said "Leave it with me little darling and I will have it fixed for you in no time". David was always seen riding his bicycle with trailer from school to school picking up instruments for repair, and a feature was done on him in the local newspaper a few years ago.

He worked for Boosey & Hawkes in Sydney when he arrived in Australia (year not known, but obviously post WW2) when they were in George Street upstairs not far from the Town Hall. He came in contact with many service personnel from bands and was the chief instrument repairer for B&H Australia. He retired to Ballina around 1979 when he would have been 60. His wife died a few years ago, but I'm not sure of his personal family details.

A grand daughter played in the Ballina Band with Dave until she was married. Her name was Kim.

A great bloke who was real good mates with the late Frank 'Lobby' Lunn. I think they both joined in 1936.

Courtesy of Jim Hawkins (Australia)