Dave Rattenberry Rip

[cityrebel]

I've just been told the sad news that Dave Rattenberry passed away today. The rat and I go back a long way. I first met him on a tee mill tour over 35 years ago. I'm glad I saw him at wolves a few weeks ago, and had a chat. RIP Dave it's been great to know you.

Edited November 14, 2017 by cityrebel

[Buttons]

RIP Dave you will be missed.

[arnieg]

I knew he was I'll, but it is still a shock.

 

RIP

[daveallan81]

Sad news. RIP Dave.

[PHILIPRISING]

LONG-time seller of Speedway Star and a really good bloke. Salt of the earth ... rip

[Mike.Butler]

Over the last 10 years we really got to know each other (meeting regularly at both Speedway and non-league footy). Last time I saw him was merely 2 weeks ago and upon parting his handshake lasted longer than usual and i sensed it may be the last time... He's gone with me owing him 2 coffees.....Going to Monmore won't seem the same...Some people you just hit it off with and Dave was one of those...at least he was out and about till near the end...RIP mate.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Mike.Butler

[Star Lady]

Dave provided all the stock for KREST's shop at Lynn and was a delight to work with and one of the most helpful people you could hope to meet. A true gentleman who it was an honour to know.

RIP Dave.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

Dave has been a friend for a long time, I dropped off and collected stuff from tracks for him when i was riding ,we always had a chat about speedway ,he always asked about my son and my mum everytime I saw him , top bloke Dave was . RIP fella

[lucifer sam]

RIP Dave.

 

All the best

Rob

[Al Stewart]

This is a very unpleasant shock as I hadn't realised Dave was ill. He's one of these people you thought would always be around.

 

I must have known him since 1970 at least and seen him at dozens of tracks. He did the souvenirs at Powderhall in the late 70s and early 80s though he wasn't there every week.

 

When he did the souvenirs at Glasgow and Berwick with Mick Gregory in the late 80s and early 90s, they stayed with me and we had some very enjoyable weekends, going for meals or occasionally to football, which was Dave's main interest. He had been to thousands of grounds. His snoring was legendary.

 

I'm very, very sorry I won't be seeing his cheery face any more.

[annie sawyer]

Very sad news to hear about Dave. Many happy memories from those Tee Mill survival tours back in the 70's and 80's. My thoughts are with his friends and family. I'm sure he would say he had enjoyed himself. RIP Dave.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Annie Morris

[Paul]

Goodness me, always enjoyed our chats. Very sad news indeed and RIP my friend.

[Mr Ore]

I usually saw Dave at lower level football, where we would talk speedway over a cuppa. He always went out of his way to find me so we could exchange banter He told me he was cutting back but I never realsied he was so ill. My better(her words) half remembers your kindness and we are both saddened by the news. RIP mate.

[Piotr Pyszny]

Very sad news indeed. I particularly associate Dave with running the track shop at Cleveland Park, Middlesbrough. Buxton, too. Always happy to chat, before and after meetings. Always full of energy. I later discovered we had another mutual interest: visiting football grounds, and subsequently bumped into him on a fair few of those. One of the nice guys. RIP, Dave.

[Gunner85]

Speedway was a good earner for Dave in the early days.

 

I would say that his Football travels far exceeded his Speedway travels over the years.

 

He will be missed by many

[martinmauger]

Was only talking with him not that long ago at Scunny, reminiscing about the days he ran the track shop at Hull, Craven Park.

A very interesting guy for sure, RIP Dave....

[Ivanhoe]

Very sad news. Only saw him at the last Wolves football home game to say hello from a distance. Shocker. RIP Dave, will miss you at the green.

[tyretrax]

R.I.P. Rats.

[TonyMac]

A great character and part of the speedway 'family'.

 

It was a great pleasure meeting up with 'The Rat' on Tee Mill Tours trips to foreign venues in the late 70s and early 80s, when we'd indulge our passion for speedway and football. I recall him once dragging me off to a Dutch Division 3 football game at VVV. On another occasion in Holland (think indoor speedway was on at the AHOY Arena) we saw the derby, Sparta Rotterdam v Feyenoord, starring the veteran Johan Cruyff and young starlet Ruud Gullit.

 

Dave had a great knowledge of football, as well as speedway, and travelled all over the world to watch the most obscure teams. He'd go to far flung grounds in Africa to watch African Cup of Nations matches. God knows how many grounds he visited over the years - it must have been well into four figures - and I remember once mentioning to him that he should have taken photos wherever he went and turned it into what would have been a great illustrative book.

 

I think he had the good fortune some years back to win a substantial six-figure sum on the football pools, but he never boasted about it. I guess it helped him to get around the world and see places most of us can only dream about, and others we'd never even heard of!

 

Of course, Dave handled sales of Speedway Mail back in the day, and for the past 14 years or so Backtrack and Classic Speedway as well as our various books.

 

I'll always have this image of him munching on a bacon sarnie while chatting about 'The Wolves'.

 

RIP, Dave.

Edited November 14, 2017 by tmc

[cityrebel]

Dave missed the wolves leg of the play off final because of another marathon journey to watch football. I reckon his grounds visited total must have been At least 4000.