THis is the tribute I submitted to the Club for the matchday programme. Sadly due to lack of space it had to be cut-down but I thought it should be shared with HOL members who have clearly shown their affection and respect for a selfless man who gave so much and received very little in return except our undying gratitude and appreciation. RIP staffie...

Tribute to staffie from HOL

The team at Holmesdale Online (HOL) is heartbroken to announce the passing of staffie one of HOL’s longest serving and most prolific of posters. His passing has had a massive impact on members of HOL and the Palace supporting community. Since his death on Sunday there have been over 28 pages of tributes paid to staffie (he insisted “There is NO capital "S" in staffie”) by members distraught at the news of his sad and untimely death.

A member since 10th April 2004 there was rarely a day when staffie did not post something on HOL. Most will thank and remember him for the feeds to online Palace games that thousands of Palace fans who could not make it to Selhurst Park or away days. This was a really valuable service to the many fans who were working away from home, were too ill to attend or had moved away from the area (including a few hundred now based overseas). On top of that he would help members of HOL with technical issues related to PCs and associated gadgets and often, at his own expense would send out DVDs of match clips to members that had asked him.

He was enigmatic and guarded his privacy, so much so that very few members actually met him or spoke to him in person. However all members are aware of the posts he shared including really useful links to various bands music and bootleg recordings. We have copied below a heartfelt tribute from just one fan who recalls how difficult it was to get staffie to accept anything over and above a simple ‘thank you’.

"Hopefully this post won't be considered as self-indulgent, but rather my experiences of staffie, to highlight the generosity of the man. There are other HOLers with far more experience of staffie as a friend than me. Their experiences count for a lot more than mine, but for the record:
I joined the HOL about 10 years ago, and being a technophobe, had no idea about how to download files. It transpired I lived 10 minutes walk away from staffie. He would regularly drop off CD's he had burned, whilst I learnt how to download files. Sloveniadave first started the 'thankyou' presents to staffie around 2010. He had a copy of the Steve Coppell book which he brought to the Whitehorse for as many HOLers as possible to sign their gratitude within the covers. staffie was over-whelmed with the book. staffie was very reluctant to accept any gifts of gratitude, but did appreciate people saying 'thank you', either by posting, or PM.
Sloveniadave got the ball rolling for me. Over the next couple of years we (thanks to donations by other HOLers) got him a home shirt with 'staffie' on the back, a signed copy of a vinyl "Crime of the Century" by band-member Roger Hodgson (staffie's all-time favourite album). And finally we got him a ticket for the Play-Off final against Watford. All of the above we virtually had to force on the man, as he wanted no gifts of appreciation. It was more than enough for HOLers just to post 'thanks'. And like all of us, he could be a miserable bugger from time to time. And yet he was loved unconditionally by a huge amount of people who didn't even know him.
For fans based abroad this was especially true.
Sorry for rambling.
RIP staffie"

To that tribute we would like to add another: “Every matchday morning staffie would start the "matchday thread", listing team line-ups and the latest gossip. Then at Kick-off, into the chatroom to provide radio commentary and chat with other HOLers about the way the game was going. This was especially appreciated by those Palace fans abroad, and those of us that far away, not to be able to attend every game."

As mentioned earlier not much is known about staffie as he was a private person. One HOL member that got to know him in recent years told us that he lived in Sydenham, and was 58 when he died. Sadly he hadn't had a particularly happy life and was estranged from members of his family. He was a non drinker and loved his dogs (hence his logo), and was devastated at their loss. He seldom went out and had suffered from heart problems for some time. He was known to be an insomniac and would be on HOL almost every waking moment! A proud man, he never asked for financial help although he was known to be on occasion quite poverty stricken.

Despite the above he was a truly generous person with his time and advice and always responded positively to the many requests from HOL members for links to games or obscure musical MP3s. staffie was a selfless member of the Palace supporting community on Holmesdale Online as can be seen from the hundreds of messages received and posted expressing genuine shock and grief at his sad loss. All of us associated with Holmesdale Online would like to thank all those who have sent their condolences and posted messages of appreciation for what staffie did for them and the Palace family. He will be sadly missed and leaves at massive hole at Holmesdale Online.

Edited by Palacetinian (22 Apr 2015 7.19pm)