Yesterday was a very moving day for those of us who knew Bill (Will) Whitehead. Thanks to Liz and the children for sharing such a dignified day with grace and humour.

I met Bill while at Gissings. We worked with him at Enniskilda, Sao Paolo and SEB. His work as an HR Director and Pensions Manager continued at Commerzbank where he was latterly a trustee with Simon Mclean. His trustee work – through Petrus, was highly successful – Bill didn’t do a job badly – he was a great person to work with.

Talking with Tony Woodward after the service, it became clear that Bill had touched many in earlier days at Kleinwort Benson, in the NHS and at college. Apparantly Bill spent more time at college having fun than swotting. He took other people seriously but he never pretended to be learned. His was a different way!

When Dawid, Rob and Stu Breyer set up Mallowstreet in 2008, Bill was at the heart of it, a Founding member of a financial community which has stood the test of time.

Bill was the Treasurer of Pension Play Pen and ran the accounts for our many ventures down to Cheltenham. Bill was a fan of equine investments as we heard in Liz’s eulogy.

The funeral in Falconwood was followed by the wake in the Dutch church in Austin Friars, geographically appropriate and a peaceful setting to talk through our memories of this remarkable man.

It seems that even until a few days from his death, he was putting his family before himself. The photos of him giving away his daughter in June were an extraordinary testament to his generosity of spirit.

Bill is now taking one step beyond, and that was the music we finished the service to. I noted with approval that the music that we walked out of the chapel to is used at half time by Yeovil Town. I am quite sure Bill will have a good second half – though dressed in blue not green and white!