"Funeral Arragements: Thursday 14th June, 10:45am, South Chapel, Hendon Crematorium, Holders Hill Road, NW7 1NB"
Barnet Official SiteThe Chairman, colleagues and friends from Barnet FC pay their respects
As you are well aware, yesterday saw the sad passing of a dear friend of the club - Dennis Signy OBE. Since the news broke, tributes and messages of respect have been pouring into Underhill, all of which were filled with sorrow, yet all which remember Dennis with affection, admiration and fondness. We have taken some of the messages from his colleagues and, most importantly, his friends at his beloved Barnet Football Club for you to see below. Although he is no longer with us, he will forever be part of The Bees.
The details of his funeral have been announced and can be found at the bottom of this article.
I cannot begin to sum up the heartfelt loss of Dennis, which will affect us all in so many ways. He was a calm, steady and professional influence on the club and, more importantly, he displayed the traditional values of truth and honesty so rarely seen today - not just in football, but in our everyday lives. He offered his services to the club willingly and freely. He truly was someone we could all look up to, providing support and guidance for all staff here at the club and to me personally. Such was his dedication and love for Barnet FC that he would sometimes work on projects together with me late into the night and long beyond the call of duty. But that was the type of man Dennis was - enthusiastic and eager to help people in any way he could. Never has there been a truer gentleman.
Last season was made extra difficult by his illness, but despite his advanced years he stayed actively involved with us until the very end and it was always a pleasure to see him and Pat around the stadium on Match Days. He was and always will be a true mentor and friend of Barnet FC, and he will always have a special place in our hearts.
Our condolences go out to his wife, Pat, and all his family and friends.
Tony Kleanthous, Barnet FC Chairman
I first met Dennis in 2004 when I took over the reigns at Barnet Football Club. I was transfixed by the tall eloquent gentleman who had a twinkle in his eye. I was impressed by his vast knowledge of the game and the massive network of contacts he had amassed through his varied career. Dennis came to life when he interviewed people and his writing style was unique to him. He had a wry sense of humour and he was one of the most switched on elderly gentlemen I have ever come across.
In the short time of knowing him I like to think we had a bit of a bond. I remember one cold afternoon we were strolling down the side of the stadium talking, as usual, about football when all of a sudden he disappeared. I turned and saw that he had collapsed and injured his head quite badly. He was unconscious and I was able to comfort him, bring him around and support him until we managed to get help. Thank goodness for mobile phones! As a result of the collapse Dennis was admitted to hospital and fitted with a pace maker. From that day, whilst we were never in each others faces, we were good friends.
Whenever he interviewed me he always asked to borrow a pencil or pen and he just scribbled a series of single words. The scrap of paper he wrote upon was shoved into his overcoat pocket but the resulting article was always meticulously accurate and a great read. I never did quite understand how he did that!
I visited him shortly before he passed away and even at that point, whilst confined to bed, he was still doing his journalist role. He wanted to know all what was happening so that he could prepare for his next piece of work for the club website.
Dennis loved football and he loved the Bees! Barnet Football club and the entire football fraternity have lost a true gentleman who will never be forgotten.
Paul Fairclough, Barnet FC Director of Football
I have started writing this tribute to Dennis so many times now but the words do not seem to cover the essence of the man, or the loss that will be felt by his passing. However the next four lines are held deep in my heart and they sum up Dennis completely....
Good was his heart of friendship sound,
loved and respected by all around,
a beautiful life came to an end,
he died as he lived - everyone's friend.
I know that I have lost a true friend, someone who was a real privileged to know and to love, My deepest condolences go to Dennis's wife Pat and his family, whose kindness and friendship I will treasure always. Barnet FC has lost a great advocate and the wider football world will mourn his passing. It is people like Dennis that make the world a special place. Rest in Peace Dennis. Always remembered."
Janet Matthewson, Barnet FC Community Trust Manager
Members of my family have known Dennis Signy for over sixty years. Firstly when Dennis saw my father make his debut for Brentford in the 1950s up until when I became a colleague of his at Barnet FC.
I also knew Dennis when I was the Press Officer for The Football Association and the England team in the 1980s and 90s and always found him a most professional and trustworthy journalist, and believe me this is not always the case.
It is at Underhill however that I really got to know the man.
As the Programme Editor I always knew that his copy for "Signy's Soundbites" would arrive on deadline. Dennis was very strict about this and just this simple act illustrated a lot of his qualities. Firstly it was professional but he also knew that submitting copy after the deadline causes a host of complications and here he showed consideration for others and also his adherence to high standards.
Dennis would be on the phone a lot. He wanted to know what was going on. He "worked the phones" before the phrase was invented. Only then did he feel able to put a story across that would reflect well on the club, another abiding consideration.
I did try to teach him once the advantages of learning how to cut and paste. He declined, politely asking that I didn't try to teach dinosaurs new tricks.
Another innovation that Dennis had to come to terms with was social networking. He really wanted the site to be the first with the news but admitted that it was a whole new ball game when players were tweeting to the world that they were about the sign for the Bees. They certainly weren't going to wait for the ink to dry and the formalities completed with the football authorities.
Dennis was also a great teacher and many have benefited from his journalistic knowledge and scores of young hopefuls have been given a helping hand by him.
He clarified my thinking on the placing of apostrophes, frankly something that I always had a problem with. Having been given instruction from Dennis I have become a bit of a pedant on the issue and have been known to go into shops and inform them that their signs are all wrong. It's a strange way to remember the man, but every apostrophe I use Dennis always comes to mind!
Also Dennis had guts. Over the last few years he was assailed by numerous ailments. He took them on...and beat a fair number of them...lesser men would, I'm sure, have faltered. He was never one to complain, he only allowed a small inner circle to know the extent of his travails, rather he put his energies in recovering and recuperating with regular exercise routines to literally get back onto his feet. His bravery astounded and impressed me.
What I'll miss most is the easy nature of every conversation I ever had with Dennis. He was a joy to speak to, he would listen to one's views whilst ensuring you knew his, not in a bombastic way, but his opinions were based on experience, insight and the fact that he was a thoroughly good man. I will miss him.
David Bloomfield, Barnet FC Programme Editor & Press Officer
"Excuse me son, who you writing for?"I was sitting in the café area at the Furzfield Centre. It was August 2005, I was midway through my first question to Giuliano Grazioli.
A small man, short grey hair, husky voice lent over me with a smell of tobacco engulfing the air.
"Hi. I work for the club," I said in slight trepidation."My name is Jay and I'm the new media and marketing officer. I'm doing something for Saturday's programme."
"Oh, ok son. Enjoy." This man winked at me, big smile on his face, gave me a pat on the shoulder and walked off.
I asked the former Bees number 9 who this man was. "Dennis Signy" was the answer.
I spoke to Dennis literally everyday during my spell working at Underhill. He would chat with me over the phone about possible stories. He would correct my spelling, grammar and punctuation - I can hear him now "Jay it's t-h-e-r-e not i-r".He had a way of telling you. It wasn't patronising, authoritarian, let alone smug or smart. It was "the Dennis way."
He would ring me on Sunday morning at 8 a.m or Friday night at 10 p,m. I didn't care because it was Dennis. He would chat about the game, tell me where he thought it went wrong and then hang up before I could finish my sentence. Was he being rude? No. Did he want to gloat? No. It was "the Dennis way."
In fact, every time he would phone me (and indeed anyone) he would never say "hello". Dennis would go straight into prose. Was he angry? Sometimes. Did he want to beat a print deadline? Sometimes. Yes you guessed it, it was "the Dennis way."
Thank you for your support, encouragement, laughter and wise words. We shared a scotch or two (or three, four, five) and I'd often grab you a cigarette from somewhere when you gave me that 'look' - "don't tell Pat," you would say every time. I never did, by the way.
You loved football, you loved life, and you loved journalism.Everyone you met loved you.I will never forget our daily chats and I will never forget you.As you would say, "that's enough now Jay."It was the "Dennis way."
R.I.P mate.
Jay Sugar, former Barnet FC colleague
Funeral Arragements: Thursday 14th June, 10:45am, South Chapel, Hendon Crematorium, Holders Hill Road, NW7 1NB
www.barnetfc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10431~2803226,00.html
