Hillsborough stories: John Alfred Anderson
Known as Jack, Mr Anderson was a married security officer from Liverpool. He travelled to with his son, Brian, and two friends, all of whom survived
This is the full statement to the inquests from his son, Brian Anderson:
Good afternoon. My name is Brian Anderson. On behalf of my whole family, but particularly my Mum, who is 88 now, and she's had 25 years on her own now, very lonely, I would just like to read this:
My Dad, John Alfred Anderson, was known as Jack to his friends. He was born on 2 June, 1926 in Liverpool.
He was a loving husband to his wife, Eileen, and a devoted father to his children, Dorothy, and myself. Dad was 62 years old when he was taken from us.
Dad was very much a family man and he had a romantic side to him as well. He chose to marry my Mum on St Valentine's Day, the year of 1946. They were married for just over 42 years when Dad died.
When Dad was younger, he had a motorbike, and when Mum and him had started courting and when they were first married, Dad encouraged Mum to get on the back of the motorbike and they went all over the country on the bike, going of course to see his favourite football team, Liverpool.
More often than not, Dad would lose his way, because there were no motorways in those days, but he would always manage to find a way there prior to kick-off.
Mum has so many memories of her journeys with my Dad to see the football matches.
My Dad worked really hard all his life to ensure that we lacked for nothing. We wouldn't have been considered rich in financial terms, but we were very rich as we had a loving home with a Dad that placed us first, before everything else.
When we were little, one of our happiest memories was going to New Brighton, which was a vibrant seaside resort near to where we lived.
Dad taught us the art of crabbing. New Brighton was an ideal place to learn all about that, especially because at that time there were rock pools there.
Dad had just started taking his grandchildren to New Brighton, teaching them the art of crabbing, but alas that was not to be.
Just to mention some holidays as a little extra thing, we went on holiday every year in England. Dad had to drive and there was always six of us - my Mum, my Dad, my Grandma, my Granddad, my sister and me all in the little car.
One year we went to Scarborough and we had to listen to the World Cup final on the radio. It really upset him that we couldn't get there in time.
We always went out for days like Tatton Park and Moreton. I was always getting lost and had to be found in the lost children's zone, so Dad bought me a kite so they could find out where I was.
Mum and Dad loved to babysit their grandchildren. They had four grandchildren and thought the world of them: Graeme, Katie, Emma and Craig. Dad liked nothing better than a weekend full of grandchildren to mind.
Dad was always very active in football and was a Sunday league referee and was still refereeing when he was taken from us.
He was fit and healthy. Dad worked at OTIS elevators for years. Whilst working there, he was running the sports and social club.
At that time it wasn't much really, but, typical Dad, he was determined to make it a success and worked so hard to build it up. He organised fund-raising events and turned the sports and social club into a thriving and very successful business by the time he left.
Loved times together
My Dad and I were not only father and son, but good friends as well. I enjoyed my father's company and loved our times together.
We could talk about football for hours. We had just started taking my son Graeme to the match.
Dad had bought him a little fold-away stool which, in fact, Graeme still has, but back then he was a bit too small to use it, so my Dad would sit him on the wall in the Kop, just in front of him.
Graeme would be eating sweets and having a great time, just like I did when I was a small child and went to matches with my Dad.
Dad was looking forward to retirement, but was not going to stop working completely.
He had decided that he would continue to work and worked as a security guard in the Charity Commission building in Liverpool.
My Mum has been deprived of spending her later years with her husband and is saddened by the fact they were unable to experience these times together.
Dad is greatly missed by all of us.