Remembering George Amy

My Great Uncle George passed away yesterday and I want to write a few words about him.
It was Uncle George who lent me and my Dad his Arsenal season tickets when he couldn’t get to games. These were the only opportunities that I would have to go and see my heroes play.

At the annual family gatherings, George would talk to me about all things Arsenal. I loved talking to him about football and he always listened. I must have been quite boring to listen to as a child as I just raved on about how great Paul Merson was!

Uncle George went to watch Arsenal play all over London during the Second World War with my Grandad. One funny story that my Grandad told was of a trip to Loftus Road. He and George were watching a game from behind the goal. A player hit a shot at goal and it caught George right in the face! I can’t imagine that George found it particularly funny, but my Grandad did!

George later moved to the comfort and safety of the seats at Highbury, leaving the terraces behind. He told me that he felt unsafe on the old North Bank terrace when the crowd swayed about.

He had season tickets with his son Tim and they sat in the Upper Tier of the East Stand. It was from this vantage point that I watched most of the games that I went to at Highbury. A midweek phone call from either Tim or George would often mean a trip to Arsenal on the Saturday!

My Dad once told me that George almost sent back his season tickets in protest when Charlie George was sold to Derby! It’s stories like that that show how passionately people feel about players at their club.

The last time I saw George was in the summer at a family gathering. I asked him who the greatest player that he had ever seen play for Arsenal. As soon as I asked him, I thought that was a silly question. He had seen hundreds of great players in over 80 years, how could he possibly choose one.
A few seconds passed and then George simply replied “Dennis Bergkamp”. He then proceeded to tell me how great Bergkamp was and I could tell there was a real excitement in the way that he spoke of the former Arsenal great.

Uncle George was a kind and generous man who had time for anybody. My family and I will all really miss him.