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

Apr 15 2009 by Michelle Fiddler, Heswall News

He was a lovely man. A real gentleman and 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.”