All of us at the Canaries Trust were deeply saddened to hear this week of the death of former Norwich North MP and City fan Ian Gibson.
Mike Reynolds, our Trust Secretary from 2001 to 2019, speaks of his memory of Ian.
"For many years fans in the Barclay Stand especially those living in his constituency or those that knew him from his time at UEA were used to having a conversation with Ian pre-match."
"In 2001 a group of fans decided to look into the formation of a supporters trust at NCFC, one of them, who was involved in local politics, asked Ian if he would help with a post-match meeting of City fans to assess if there was enough support. There was a degree of scepticism from a number of fans present but enough in favour of setting up Trust and so it began.
Ian was extremely interested in the concept of fan involvement and became one of the founder members but his other commitments meant he could not take an active role.
"In 2004 the Trust needed to find a fund-raiser and in conjunction with Wolfe Brewery they came up with the idea of a Trust Beer called “In the Hands of Fans”. Seeking a means of getting some publicity the Trust raised it with Ian who immediately organised and got involved in the launch of the beer in the Strangers Bar at the House of Commons.
Ian kept in touch with some of the original board to see how things were going until he left Parliament".