I worked with Chris at Tameside, and he was wonderful to work with. We miss him dearly and keep expecting him to stroll in before the next meeting that he used to Chair...

This is just a note really to say how he never complained about any of his ailments – when his back was so sore and he couldn’t drive, he still turned up and Julia drove him to the office. And he didn’t want a fuss when we tried to locate a more comfortable chair for him - we didn’t have the best chairs as our office was what used to be the public gallery overlooking the main hall of the Town Hall – and as such, we were based in the storage room really with whatever kit they could find! But he didn’t want a fuss when he was unwell, nor did he ever complain, and instead used to walk around the office and stand where he could. Indeed, we had a wheelie bin in the room, and it proved to me most useful as it was just the right height for him to stand and read his papers! We laughed about how it looked as though he was giving a sermon from his lectern.

And that was another thing that was great about him – he did have a good sense of humour! He had a dry wit about him, and there’d always be something to laugh about. He was very much a part of the team, and had the fantastic ability to see the bigger picture, understand what makes Senior Officers tick in order to get the best out of them, and effectively facilitate challenging meetings to ensure all partners can come to an understanding.

Chris was also fiercely proud of his family, and displayed his family’s photo on his desk at all times. He would talk about them often, the Florida holidays and things he’d done on the weekend, if there was a boxset or documentary he’d watched on tv, the lovely OAP tea dances in the hall below etc…. and was generally a warm person who was very easy to approach and talk to. He is sorely missed by everybody he worked with here.