Where to start William... 


Me and Will first met when we started secondary school. Truth be told we butted heads a lot with lots of trips to the head teacher and a water fight whilst on detention cleaning lockers springs to mind. 


It wasn’t until we left school that we became best pals. Myself and Will looking older than our years were able to get into the bars and clubs of Salisbury before we turned 18 so naturally we found ourselves out every weekend spending what money we had. We both got paid at alternate times in the month so found ourselves funding the others night out in order to make sure we could go out together. Will was well know for getting his kit off and I’m sure we got barred from a couple of places because of it. There were far too many nights causing mayhem, but some of the notable ones ( that I’d be allowed to mention )were: 
Out in Bournemouth for my 18th wrestling on the beach at 6am. Which I didn’t like to admit you won.
The night you were getting picked up only for me to find you an hour later asleep on a bench in the middle of town in the snow. Snow starting to cover you. 
The night we went out in Swindon on your work do and we ended up in the only place that was open which turned out to be a gay bar. Then we got stranded in Swindon missing multiple trains. 
St Patrick’s day when we went out with a tenner between us and managed to have a brilliant night. 


Nothing gets past will and one night I must have agreed to go on a bit of a road trip the next day for Will to pick up a van. I must have thought he would probably forget, but there he was the next day at 8am in my house with my mum making him a cup of tea. It turns out the van was in Newcastle and it was 12 hour round trip. Probably one of the longest days of my life at the time, but mow one of my fondest memories. Will of course was fresh a daisy as he always seemed to be the day after.  


Anyone who has had a drink with Will will know how much he loves a Guinness and has probably heard one of his many accents. He could literally keep it going for the whole night... so much so that he often had people believing he was actually the one born in Scotland and not me. He was definitely a Scot at heart and I’m pretty sure still has my Scotland the brave rugby shirt! 


We eventually grew up at least a little although one of Will’s best qualities was his young heart and outlook to life. Will met Louise and I later met my now wife Robyn. We would always make sure we made it to each other’s events and check in on each other as frequently as possible. My friendship with Will was the type that we could go months without seeing each other, but when together were as if we had been all the time, something I truly valued and will miss so much. Will meeting my son for the first time was a moment I will cherish. Will couldn’t get enough of how much of a nutter Max was, probably because they are both pretty similar. 


We both got engaged and it was time for the stag do’s! They picked me up at 2am to head to Hamburg for Wills stag and handed me a Carlsberg... I don’t think we stopped until 3 or 4 am the following  day. It’s customary for the stag to wear some daft outfit and Will had to wear some womens lederhosen. Now most stags you have to force them into their outfits, but Will  wouldn’t take it off the whole weekend and was even looking in shops for another to wear on the last days. It was a weekend to remember then followed by mine in Cardiff, but I wasn’t so keen on the outfit! 


I got married a month before Will and he did me the honour of being one of the ushers an honour that I repaid at Will’s wedding. We’d have been lost without him and once again Will showed his Scottish heritage by helping the other groomsmen get ready. He was certainly a little over excited about his chance to wear a kilt! We were great full to be part of Will and Louise’s big day the following Month and you could tell that was the happiest day of Will’s life. 


The past year has been tough for everyone and whilst we had still kept in touch I hadn’t seen Will for some time. We would often talk about when the pubs would open again and we could have a pint together. What I would give to do it one last time. 


He was a true gem, a gentleman and the kindest of souls. His smile would light up a room and his memory is something I hope I can keep alive. He was more than a friend, he was a brother. I am happy to have known him so well and shared so many memories over the years. He will leave a huge void in the many lives he touched. 


I love you! 


“ Go home William!”