I have very happy and fond memories of Uncle Alan.
As a child we lived in Crosswood Crescent and Uncle Alan, Aunty Grace and Ali and Christine lived across the road in Gentwood Road.

Alan was a keen gardener, the back garden was very long and narrow and in the summer months the borders were ablaze with brightly coloured Dahlias.He also had a greenhouse where he grew tomatoes and grapes. He even had plants growing on the window ledge in the box room!  The very end of the garden was dark and overgrown and Alan told us that the Fairies lived there! Ali and I spent a lot of time there looking for them. It was a very magical place to us as little children.

For many years Alan's mode of transport was a red Reliant Robin and we would all go to see nanna in Runcorn in it. I don't know how we all fitted in but we loved it, especially when we went over Runcorn Bridge. It was especially exciting on a windy day when the car would rock from side to side! I remember us all having to dig it out of heavy snow one christmas and then pushing it down the road to get it started. It must have looked hysterical.

Alan loved to make things especially from scraps of metal when he worked at Otis Elevators. I was particularly impressed when he made me a pair of roller skates!

We always had fun with Alan. 
 
I will always treasure my lovely memories of a very kind,funny,teller of tales, gardener, golfer and much loved uncle.

Rest in Peace Uncle Alan.

God Bless

Carol xx 

Alan was known to all at Otis Elevators as Tom.I never found out why.He was the go to man if you needed anything made from sheet metal.He worked on an old forming machine and he was so skilled he could make anything you wanted.In those days you could fix sills onto your rusting car,and Bally must have formed hundreds of them by touch,and eye.No push-button computerised equipment for him.

One evening his golf clubs were stolen from his car at H&P and he was most upset by the loss of his putter because he could buy news clubs,but he had made the putter in Otis and he had by then retired,so couldn't replace it!

One of Dad's great talents was story telling. Here is one he often told about a narrow escape in Norris Green. Dad was a child in the second world war. Many Liverpool kids got evacuated, but Dad and his family stayed put in their home in Norris Green. If the sirens went off Dad was responsible for getting his younger sister Kathleen in to the shelter. Often times in between sea faring voyages, dad's Uncle Ralph, a ships bowson, would stay with them. If the sirens went off he would always refuse to go in to the shelter. He had previoulsy been torpedoed twice on ships and had been lucky to survive, so he figured that if his number was up it was up. Instead he would stay in the house with a bottle of whisky. One particular night the sirens went off in the evening, when Dads parents were out working. Uncle Ralph stayed put, but Dad was woken up by being bounced in to the air from a great thud. Next, the wardens came around with their whistles and lights looking for an unexploded bomb. A neighbour shouted out 'there's a big hole here in our garden and it wasn't there before......" Suffice to say Dad Kathleen and Ralph had a narrow escape, and the neighbourhood was evacuated to make the device safe, no-one could go back home for several days. What a great generation our parents and grandparents were.

At this sad time, I am still struggling to come to terms with the recent passing of Grandad, as I'm sure all of you are. I just pray that we can hold on to the great memories with which he left us, and be grateful for those wonderful experiences.

I have so many treasured memories from my childhood of visiting Grandad at his home in Prestatyn. It used to make me so happy when he would take me out on an adventure in his green car, with him letting me try on his driving sunglasses and eat as many Pear Drops as I wanted on the journey.

We would often play miniature golf, go to a funfair for the day, or just run along the beach with his lovely dog Gemma. It seemed like the sun was always shining whenever I was there. I will cherish those memories for a lifetime.

I have heard so many stories from before my time, about Grandad's life as a wonderful father to Alison and Christine, and adoring husband to Grace. I know how hard he worked to provide for the family, and he obviously did a fantastic job of raising you both. I know for certain that he was immensely proud of both of you.

I am so glad that we all got to spend more time with Grandad towards the end of his life, and that he was comfortable and happy in his new home back in Huyton. He remained his sociable, cheeky, and loveable self to the very end.

From the time that I knew him, I will remember Alan as a kind, generous, caring man who loved his family immensely. I was blessed to have such a person in my life, and to say that he will be missed is an understatement. I will always remember his words of wisdom, his zest for life, and his kindness. 

I love you, Grandad. I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to tell you that in person before you passed on.

Rest in peace.

Alex