Richard,

Apart from the odd sport related injury and an incident with a penknife in the New Forest, I can’t recall you ever giving your mum and I a moment of real concern throughout your life, although you were a rather fussy eater for several years, something people who met you more recently may find hard to believe.

Despite being a summer baby, you excelled at school, college and university. You knew what you wanted to do from an early age and pursued it with your characteristic vigour, resulting in the successful career you were forging with BAE Systems.

You also found time, as we have heard, for participation in many interests, sports and hobbies. You fully committed yourself to all of them, to be the best you could be, you just didn’t do half measures.

To Chris and Lizzie you were not only an unparalleled big brother but also a true friend, helper and mentor, as Chris has just confirmed.

To the whole family you were a constant source of laughter and smiles. Without you we may never have been exposed to Homestar Runner, South Park, kitten videos, the Llama song , and the Discworld novels.

On the subject of books, I’ll take the blame for getting you hooked on Lord of The Rings, but I personally want to thank you for getting me into several authors and books that may otherwise have passed me by, including A Song of Ice and Fire – better known to most as Game of Thrones [I promise to let you know how that ends up – That’s if you don’t know already?].

When you and Hayley decided, early on, that you were right for each other you, both, fully committed to that relationship, first setting up your cosy home together and resulting in that wonderful wedding day last year.

We consider ourselves privileged to have been the family of such an intelligent, kind, caring and considerate individual and so very proud to call you our son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, son-in-law, brother-in-law and, in Hayley’s case, husband.

What has become apparent over the past few weeks is that we are not the only ones to have felt that way about you and it seems you have touched many, many people in your all too short life, leaving them all with much the same feelings – so to that list we need to add; - classmate, teammate, colleague and, perhaps above all - because it transcends the rest - friend.

Many of them are here today and those that can’t be are thinking of you.

In honour of your memory, there is a prayer flag being placed today in a high Himalayan pass, and tomorrow the Finals of the European Beach Rugby Series, taking place near Venice, will open with all the teams lining up and observing a minute’s silence.

To pass through life and leave only positive impressions with everyone you have met on that journey is a rare achievement and a lesson that we could all try and emulate.

However, Rich, it is the things that you have not done and that will now never happen which will probably be the hardest to bear.

Every family occasion, and other event, will now have a Richard sized hole in it. You will no longer brighten our lives with your easy charm and wit. We will never again see your unfailing bright smile and happy face appear in our lives. We will miss the silly greetings ;-“Hello Fadjer”, ”Mumsy” “Lizzles”, “Monkey-Cat”, “Chrieko”, “Emmiwinks” and “Hayley-Boos”, being just a few examples.

We all know, without any doubt, that you would have made a wonderful father to the children you so clearly wanted - it was obvious to anyone that you could effortlessly interact with children on their own wavelength, with your usual lack of any self-consciousness.

I also believe, once you’d finally hung up your boots, you would have gone on to be an accomplished rugby coach – your insight and awareness of the game was evident and you were always willing to help younger players.

Who knows what you may have also gone on to achieve in the secretive world of submarine design, but I’d take a guess that, with your intelligence and commitment, you would not have stopped progressing up the organisation.

So we will need to content ourselves to remember the very best of you, of which there was so much, and to keep those memories alive for the rest of our own lives.

You will no doubt recall the words of Terry Pratchett [because you never forget anything]:-

 “No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away”

Richard, you have caused only joyous ripples and I don’t think they will die away anytime soon.