'All Evertonians should remember' - Everton super fan hails Bill Kenwright kindness

Everton super fan David France believes Bill Kenwright was the last of his type when it came to Premier League chairmen and has paid tribute to the kindness and generosity he showed to others less fortunate than himself.

Known as ‘Dr Everton’, the 75-year-old retired oil and gas industry executive sold his 10,000-item collection of Everton memorabilia to the club at a heavily discounted price so it could be kept for posterity while also founding the Everton Former Players’ Foundation to raise money for the physical and pastoral care of ex-professionals who have represented the club.

Kenwright's death aged 78 was announced on Tuesday and Widnes-born Dr France told the ECHO: “Part of Everton has passed away. I’m proud to say I’ve been a good friend of Bill for 30 years.

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“I disagreed with him to his face over certain things but we remained good friends. Besides being a great and unswerving Evertonian, I remember him as such a kind man with people who was so generous with people who were less fortunate in life than himself.

“I could cite many cases in which Bill was kind, generous and thoughtful to others in terms of his spirit, his time and his resources. Whenever I mentioned a case of somebody who needed a bit of help to him, whether it was former players or members of the public, he never failed to respond in a positive way.”

Although France and Kenwright lived through two glorious periods in Everton’s history, under John Moores when they were known as ‘The Mersey Millionaires’ and then Howard Kendall’s first spell as manager in the 1980s, they were also both old