'All he wanted was a just and fair society': Tireless Northampton campaigner sadly passes away aged 76

A “tireless and prominent campaigner”, who fought against cuts in public services and for disability rights in Northampton, has sadly passed away aged 76.

Dave Green, who was a pivotal part of the ‘Save Our Services’ campaign group, passed away at home last Sunday (October 2).

His voice was critical in saving St Luke’s playing field from housing development, and the funding of the redevelopment of Northampton’s schools.

He was a former shop steward at Blackwood Hodge and during his time in the Save Our Services group, he stood as borough councillor in the Old Duston ward – narrowly missing out by just a handful of votes.

More recently, he devoted time to helping people resolve their problems in the workplace and represented them at industrial tribunal hearings – and his wife Joan Green says “as he suffered from arthritis, he knew what they were experiencing”.

Joan, from Duston, said: “He was kind, caring and determined to make a change for the better.

“All he wanted was a just and fair society, and he was prepared to spend his life fighting for it.”

Joan described Dave as a “family man”, who had one son and two grandchildren. When his grandchildren visited from Canada, he would without fail make toy planes and boats for them to play with.

“What I’ll miss most is his sense of humour,” said Joan. “He always came out with something no matter the occasion.”

Laughing, Joan added: “He was also always late.”

After an operation in February, Joan says they thought he was recovering but he began experiencing problems, which they believed to be caused by his rheumatoid arthritis.

They discovered the problems were caused by cancer of the spine and hips, which was beyond treatment, and he spent three weeks in hospital before Joan chose to bring him home where he felt most comfortable.

Joan believes Dave’s proudest campaigning moment would have been retaining St Luke’s playing field.

“I imagine campaigning is like banging your head against a brick wall at times, and they made a tremendous difference,” she said.

Someone who worked closely with Dave in the Save Our Services group is 75-year-old Norman Adams from Delapre – who had known Dave for 40 years.

Norman said: “Dave was a force to be reckoned with, which is why he was elected as shop steward.

“He would make a good argument and not back down.

“Dave was a genuine bloke and said things as they were, but would always be there to lend a hand and give people the confidence to fight their corner.”

After Dave retired and despite having no formal legal training, he helped others by representing them before barristers and won in the majority of cases.

Norman says Dave “saw a lot of things in the workplace that others would not have” and he used this knowledge to make people more confident, which the Save Our Services group will miss about him.

Joan says Dave was an “amazing person, who will be greatly missed by family and all who knew him”.

His funeral will take place at The Counties Crematorium on October 19 at 11am.