David Hale, who died earlier this year, first joined the ASC 40 years ago

MEMBERS of the Arsenal Supporters Club (ASC) have paid special tribute to a long-standing and beloved committee member who died earlier this year, after Arsenal won the league.

David Hale, 71, first joined the ASC 40 years ago and was the club’s travel officer for the rest of his life.

Barry Baker, club secretary, said he had worked with David for the entirety of his time at ASC, and that he was a “dedicated, loyal and passionate” member of the club.

When Mr Hale passed away unex­pectedly in January, it left a hole in the hearts of the club’s committee, he said.

He told the Tribune: “Before our last game of the season on Sunday we held a two-minute silence to remember David. It was very emotional, it means so much to us to remember him in the season we won the league. He would’ve loved to have seen the millions of people coming out to the parade.

“He loved Arsenal, and he loved the supporters club. He dedicated every weekend of his life to it alongside his wife Pat. He was mad about collecting Arsenal badges.”

Every weekend, members of the supporters club would meet for drinks at the club bar in Gillespie Road. When Arsenal had an away match, Mr Hale would nip out to his shed outside the clubhouse and organise the team coach to take the supporters across the country, from Sunderland to Cardiff – always on time, always reliable.

For every journey he would make sure everyone had some snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, and would get the Arsenal chants going throughout the bus.

“He was so laid-back, and so calm. He was such an easygoing bloke, but so dedicated. Never had a bad word to say about anybody,” Mr Baker said.

“But when Arsenal were winning, he would go crazy. He’d have been up there with everybody celebrating the last few games, it meant so much to him. He always said we would get over the line! We all miss him terribly here. He did such a great job in his 40 years. There’s 15 of us all working voluntarily, so now he’s gone, there’s a big gap.”

The supporters club and Mr Hale’s friends and family raised more than £4,000 to help pay for his funeral and memorial service in February, for which Mr Baker said the attendance was “massive”.

“So many people came to show their love for him, there were people from the club, the community and even Arsenal reps. So many people couldn’t even get into the church, they had to just stand outside.”

Outside of his life at ASC, Mr Hale was a freemason for his whole career. He loved to play card games like bridge and host parties with his friends, mixing his Arsenal circles with other people from his life.