Hillsborough 20 years on: Ray Chapman - “A lovely man. A real gentleman and a great father”

Apr 15 2009 by Michelle Fiddler, Birkenhead News

“He was a lovely man. A real gentleman and a great father”

RAY Chapman was almost not at Hillsborough.

The 49-year-old father-of-two did not have enough vouchers to qualify for a ticket, but at the last minute a friend in his Prenton local gave him his because he couldn’t travel.

“I went with him into Liverpool to get the ticket,” says his widow Joan, 66, now a grandmother-of-three.

“Before he set off on the day we arranged to meet at the Halfway House for a drink that evening.

“I had a shirt ironed and ready on the bed for him to get changed into. I’ll never, ever forget that night.

“I think the first couple of years after Ray died I was in shock. I fell into a depression and felt like jumping in the dock but I kept on for the kids.

“Ray was a lovely man. A real gentleman who was a great father and husband.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he had gone back to help.”