The obituary notice of David Bonnie Lyndsey STEVENS

Not forgotten, free from all pain & earth’s bonds. Wherever you are, I hope you are at peace & happy. Jo x

I Muhammad Jahanzeb pays respect to David Stevens. I am in deeply pained & words are of no help in expressing the sorrow I feel at this moment. I was so sorry to hear that he died, but I know now that at least his suffering is over. He was so strong in the way he battled his disease. It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of David Stevens.

I met with him in 2009 & it was my honor that he recruited me in Logistics Emergency Response Unit (ERU) team during Pakistan Flash Floods project in 2009. David has a unique style of work & I learned a lot from him & it still helped me out a lot in my work, he was like a mentor to me. He was so generous & kind, always guide me in every aspect.

David will be missed but not forgotten, & my heartfelt sympathies & sincere condolences go out to his family, friends & Colleagues (BRC).

Dan Sanger remembers David

David was indeed dedicated to RC and a key part of the Logs ERU and it was pleasure to know him and to work with him on a few missions. I learned a great deal from his expertise which he was always generous to share and he was highly thought of by all those counterparts he worked with. As Mike said he will indeed be missed but not forgotten ….
Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to the crematorium for the service but I’m glad to hear that someone from the Logs ERU will be there. I will be thinking of our last ERU mission the Philippines and the good humour he brought to the team.

Claire and Will pay their respects to David Stevens

This is very sad news. I’ve known David since 2006 when I joined the British Red Cross Logistics team at HQ. I therefore had the pleasure of meeting David at every training, briefing and debriefing over my 8 years in the role. Whilst sadly we never deployed together in the same ERU team, we did cross over for handover between rotations occasionally as well as enjoying his past deployments presentations, usually held in a tent, in a field somewhere near Bristol, with a drink in hand and David’s charming and humorous delivery leading us through his latest adventure and making us almost feel like we’d been there with him.

I asked my husband (William Carter IFRC Geneva Water & Sanitation) if he knew David. “Oh yes” Will replied, we were deployed together in Uganda. Will happened to mention that he’s never been on a helicopter before. David set out immediately to right this aviation wrong. David (like most of us loggies, myself included) loved aircraft of all shapes and sizes and assumed others do to our same level of enthusiasm. It turns out some people, and one engineer (Will) in particular was somewhat more reluctant and less keen!

A few days later, having a quick and well deserved beer after a long day, Will pointed out to David the Ukrainian pilots, also imbibing a beverage or two. “No, need to worry Will” he said “They are very professional. The have an 8-hours ‘bottle-to-throttle’ rule. Strictly enforced”.

A day or two after this, David had made the necessary arrangements and Will was scheduled to take a helicopter from Soroti going north for a field visit. David cheerfully waved him off and wished Will well.

Inside the aircraft, Will sat nervously, the engine sprang into action, the rotor blades started to whir, the helicopter started to move and then …. as quickly as it started it shut down, out jumped the Ukrainian pilot “don’t panic, don’t panic” he called as he whipped out a Tupperware box of tools and parts and proceeded to start hammering at the mechanical components of the helicopter. Anyone not already panicking at that stage, started to have mild palpitations, as the passengers looked around at each other.

Twenty minutes later, with a confident nod, the pilot proclaimed the heli fixed, hoped into the pilot seat and took off. And thus began Will’s first (and not only) trip by helicopter for work. He does not come anywhere close to having David’s love of all things ‘Air Operations’ but he does have both fond memories and a very great story of David’s passion and professionalism and down-right loveliness.

We send our love and warm regards to David’s family and we are sorry we are not able to attend the funeral and remembrance today. He was well loved and will be deeply missed by all who meet him and knew him. The Red Cross family will always remember him and he really did make a difference in this world and did his bit to make it a better place for people in crisis.

Claire & Will xxx

(Claire Durham and William Carter)

British Red Cross pays respect to David Stevens

It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of David Stevens in May 2018.
As head of Logistics for the British Red Cross, it was my pleasure, and privilege, to have recruited David to our Logistics Emergency Response Unit (ERU) as the AirOps delegate. During his time as part of our ERU team, stretching from 2003 to 2014, David deployed more than a dozen times, and to some of the most challenging disaster responses worldwide.
Whether responding to an earthquake in Iran, tsunami across the Indian Ocean, hurricanes in the Caribbean, typhoons across the Philippines or managing a fleet of helicopters in Pakistan; David brought his considerable expertise, humour and unique style to every deployment.
When not working overseas, David quietly carried on supporting his local Red Cross branch and shop in Bangor, and that’s where we last met. I was invited as a surprise guest to co-present the British Red Cross Badge of Honour to David, recognising his years of commitment to the Red Cross.
David walked me back to the local station, a route which takes in a steep hill. That, said David, was how he would know when it’s time to retire - when he can no longer drag his suitcase up that hill.
Shortly after that last meeting he did indeed retire. Today’s new recruits to the Logs ERU will never get the chance to meet David, but his expertise and presence lives on in the procedures he helped develop, and even his image in our training material. (The pictures taken in Indonesia in June 2006 following the Yogyakarta earthquake)
David will be missed but not forgotten, and our heartfelt sympathies and condolences go out to his family and friends.
Mike Goodhand, British Red Cross