Through the Wind and the Rain Fanzine Archives

Football people in general, and the people of Merseyside and Dunfermline in particular, were stunned and saddened by two events, which by far overshadowed the success of Liverpool FC and Athletic. Firstly, the Hillsborough Disaster, in which 95 Liverpool fans lost their lives, was relayed via the radio to us watching a home match, needless to say the remainder of that particular game was forgotten as we listened in disbelief to the fatality rate. Later that evening the normal celebrations in our local were curtailed as the first pictures appeared on the telly. Dunfermline eventually won promotion to the Premier League, although one player who had been a stalwart in defence, as nerves took their toll in the final games, missed the match that won promotion through injury. That player was Garry Riddell and a few short weeks later, he died while running for charity, to raise money for the Hillsborough appeal.

Gary was an Aberdeen reserve player, on the verge of breaking into the first team, when Dunfermline manager Jim Leishman stepped in to sign him for £35,000, for the then 21 year old centre half. Gary was a regular face in the promotion push last season. No-one was more pleased than him when the final whistle went on the 13th of May. He desperately wanted the pars back in the Premier, and undoubtedly played his part in the closing stages at Forfar and Ayr 9to name but two.) Just four weeks after this I was returning from a weekend away when I heard on the local radio that Gary had died of a heart attack while completing a fun run to raise funds for Hillsborough's bereaved.

It's probably going too far to suggest that the disaster had claimed it's 96th victim, but it was so desperately ironic that Gary should have died in such a manner. He was deeply moved by events in Sheffield and actually decided to do something about it rather than just give money. Gary was known for his big-hearted caring attitude. Originally from Ellon, he came to love the town of Dunfermline and was often involved in charity work in the community. Only tow days before he died, he attended a charity function at a local primary school as part of another fund raising scheme.

His pleasant personality and sense of humour ensure his popularity with everyone he met, and he was held in high regard by all those he met through his charity work. Now, instead of looking forward to Gary lining up against the best forwards in the country, all we have are a few all too short memories of the big man in action. June 11th will forever be a sad day in the history of Dunfermline Athletic, as it will be in the Riddell home in Ellon. Our hearts go out to Gary's family and the relatives of the Hillsborough victims. Dunfermline fans will certainly miss Gary.