Kevin Keegan was a generous soul and a joy to be with - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Philip Bartey, Group Chief Executive, Autism Plus, Field Road, Thorne, Doncaster.

When I was a Director of Leonard Cheshire Services in Northumbria it was my good fortune to meet Kevin Keegan during the 1990s. Scottish and Newcastle Breweries and Newcastle FC supported Leonard Cheshire during my tenure, and I was invited to meet Kevin over lunch in the Directors Box and to watch the game of the day.

I sat next to Kevin who meekly welcomed me and said ‘Hi Phil, I’m Kevin Keegan. I replied of course you are! We watched the game and got on well together. After the game Kevin invited me to join him in meeting the fans at the gate. He gave me a box of Mars Bars; he picked up another box and we handed them out to the fans who were cheering him out.

The fans yelled out “who is that with you Kev, is it your brother?”

“No”, he replied, “this is my friend Phil from Leonard Cheshire”. It was a momentous day, and the fans adored him.

Meanwhile another friend of mine had a 19-year-old son in hospital dying from leukemia with only two weeks to live. He was a huge fan of his hometown Newcastle FC. I asked Kevin if he could find time to visit the lad.

Without hesitation he agreed but on condition there was no media or photographs taken, only pictures for the lad and his family. Kevin turned up one day later with the full team in tow and they all signed a football and gave it to the lad. It made his last few days so memorable and brought him and his family much joy.

Kevin was a joy to be with, a kind humble and generous soul and a megastar who made a great contribution to English football.

I extend my condolences to his family and friends.