It was with great sadness that I learnt my grandfather has passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning. I knew he was gravely ill, and had originally planned to go up and visit him on Sunday which very sadly turned out to be too late.

I had a real sense of shock on Saturday morning with the speed at which his illness had taken hold. I had been up to visit him in late December and he seemed to be in good spirits and unaware, as we all were, of any serious illness. I think there will always be a sense of lingering regret that I did not get a chance to say goodbye, which I am sure is a sentiment that many people who have lost loved ones feel.

In the end I travelled up to Hull on Saturday to be with my grandmother and my mum (along with my brother and sister) at a extremely difficult time. It was hard to be in their house, with so many recent reminders of both my grandfather (a cap or a pair of slippers) and well as fond memories of my childhood summer holidays spent there – a MacDonald’s bowl I remember eating from when I was about 10, amongst others.

I recently learned of my grandfather’s difficult family life whilst he was young and that he only returned to Hull out of a sense of duty after his brothers died. This was made worse by the fact that he spoke of his regret of staying in Hull and it made me wonder if I could be that selfless. Probably not, but then maybe we are from a generation where we have been brought up to live our lives for ourselves rather than for others.

In summary there is nothing I can write that would be a fitting tribute to my granddad. He was a wonderful man. A loving husband, father and grandfather. He will be greatly missed.

- Baydr