Tributes

Rose & Len Hurley 
Our Dear Friend

Doug, 
Hope you are swimming high up there. 
I want to thank you for helping my family for finding Celina for us. 
We are missing you dearly. 
Rest now our dear friend. 
Love Rose, Len, Paul, Celina and Simon x



Neil Mehta
An Inspiration

One of the things I love about the swimming group is the wonderful people that you meet there, and Doug was one of those. Inspirational in going out in all weathers with his iconic butterfly stroke and always eager for an interesting chat afterwards. I was equally inspired by his thirst for life, we chatted about his time in Germany, astronomy, lasers and mutually contacts in aerospace as well as water, waves and tides. The cave seems empty without him and he will be sorely missed but never forgotten.
 

Maggie
Joyful Presence
 

Doug, an ever joyful presence and a good friend to my Late partner.

John & Pam Skinner
Doug’s Friends
 

A wonderful friend & work colleague, also a very good skittles player & not a bad spin bowler. He will be sadly missed. From all his friends from the skittles team - The 501 squadron & The Mechanicals Cricket Club.

Nicky Carnevale

Dear Doug

To dear Doug, my lovely friend! We both lived further from the beach than the other swimmers, so we used to stay on after everyone else had gone and have a sandwich, and a chat. We laughed, and sometimes we cried. In the summertime, we would have a ‘double dip’ in the sea. You were kind and generous, and so wise, you gave me good life advice. I shall always miss you, and always be happy that I knew you.

Vicky Hollier

A true gent

Doug was always there to give his friendly and well informed opinion on some of the most surprising subjects. He had an inner peace that he had a way of transferring to others. He has left his presence and will always be with us. Happy swimming Doug.

Stephen Sargent

Skittles

Some people might say that skittles is a silly pointless game. Rolling a wooden ball to knock over some wooden pins. Why would anyone want to waste their time with that? But those people are missing out. For the point about skittles is the team. DAG was the core of our skittles team - 501. DAG pulled us all together from the Bristol diaspora. Each week during the winter skittles season, DAG drew together a team of 10 to 12 players from the wider team, despite the numerous calls that modern life throws at us to prevent us from spending time with our friends. During those couple of hours we shared our joys as skittles tumbled, and our lead increased, or commiserated as the ball fell into the gutter and the opposition inched ahead. This was an opportunity to catch up on what had been happening during the intervening week, building a sense of community and comradeship. What can be more important than that?
 
During these times DAG was our anchor. Not anchor in terms of the main player on the last game - that was mostly Clive - sometimes DAG - but mostly Clive. But anchor in terms of the Captain holding the team’s focus on achieving success in becoming better skittles players. DAG was always there to advise on the best side of the alley to stand on, the risks of putting spin on the ball, encouraging us to reach beyond the adequate 20 and aspire to be 40 score players. We all have fond memories of those times. The way the skittles invisibly flinched as Deian stepped up to the line. John’s mounting frustration as a lead was lost. The moth eaten piece of paper that DAG managed to record the team’s progress through the season, written in inscrutable hieroglyphics. The hope that the Timelords could be beaten despite the evidence to the contrary. That hope never died.
 
To me DAG was DAG, not Doug. To this day I don’t know which he preferred. I hope that doesn’t matter. To some, these may seem like trivial things. Reading these tributes highlights the depth behind the man, but for me, it was skittles that made me feel that Bristol was my home. To me, that’s a big thing. Goodbye DAG.

Billie Oliver

Just Keep Swimming Doug

I dedicated my latest blog post to Doug. This is the link:
https://justkeepswimmingbillie.wordpress.com/2021/11/20/49-i-must-go-down-to-the-seas-again/?fbclid=IwAR2T0AP3bmitHzA9m6dY723z-7XoBnZzQN3NSpNV2JfM04Nor3pvcc_2mcE

Pat& Geoff Ford

Lovely man

 We did not know Dougie very well, but whenever we were down with the swimmers talking to him he was so friendly warm & happy , such a lovely human being.

Philip

A Legend

Philip Roberts

Doug

We are proud to have known you and to be able to call you our friend. You were a force of nature, but above all a true inspiration. Your positivity, zest for life and the glint in your eye was truly infectious. Rest In Peace Doug, your friends Phil & Justine xx

Shirley & Stuart Townley 

Our friend and cricketer 

Doug has been involved with the Mechanicals Cricket Club since our first tour in 1995. 
He was our slow spin bowler with many wickets caught from him. He was a no 11 batsman and enthusiastic bowler, even being warned for his aggressive swimming with Shirley at the Cumberland.  In later years he turned his attention to scoring with the use of his binoculars. 
Doug will be sorely missed especially on New Year’s Day at Clevedon when he would demonstrate his unique butterfly stroke. 
Rest in peace Doug, we will always remember you. 
Love from Stuart, Shirley and the MCC

Lin Thomas 

Life Loving Greg 😊

Thinking of dear Greg and his infectious zest for life.. and how much he missed his dear Muriel, my friend. How he loved being with Sophie & Deian and his Grandchildren... his sparkling bluest eyes... we will all miss him. Irreplaceable 😐

Thinking of you all today as you bid Farewell to a Much Loved & respected gentleman

xx Lin & Mike xx

Michelle 

To a true gentleman

Doug will be sadly missed and in our thoughts as a kind, funny and inspirational gentleman. Many fond memories.

Richard Roberts 

A Real Enthusiast

Doug was probably the most contagiously enthusiastic person I have ever met. As a fellow MCC cricketer in the 1990's, I was in awe of his fitness and agility as the senior member of the side - nowadays even more so. Happy memories of many pleasant summer evenings. You will be missed, Doug

Goli

Pa x



I always referred to you as Pa (papa) because, well, that was how I was introduced to you by Sophie at our graduation all those years ago at UEA.
  You will be dearly missed, your energy is unmatched and I hope to see you again some day up in the sky.
Lots of love Goli ❤️

Els 

Thanks for being Doug

I saw a comment recently “Never grow up. It’s a trap”. He had this spirit. He always seemed enthusiastic and curious about life and the world. A listener as well as a story teller. A good deal of courage.