My friend Dave Knight, who has died of cancer aged 64, was a prominent trade unionist and community activist in the east London borough of Waltham Forest. He was also an ardent supporter of Leyton Orient football club, and the founding editor of one of the oldest football fanzines in the country, as well as an active member of the club’s fans’ trust.
Dave was born in Bethnal Green, east London, to Dora, a nurse, and her husband, Dave, a post office engineer who was also a union activist. He went to Leyton county high school and his first job was as a sickness benefit clerical officer before he trained as a social worker specialising in families, working first in Islington and then Waltham Forest. He was soon heavily involved in his trade union, Nalgo (later Unison) and was elected to be the full-time Unison branch secretary at the borough of Waltham Forest in 1997.
His effectiveness in the post was reflected in the fact that he held it until retiring in 2015. An instinctive, non-party-affiliated socialist, his generosity and good humour earned him widespread respect, and he fronted many Unison campaigns, including on equal pay and safety at work. He successfully led a court case against the council over asbestos disposal.
He was also involved in a local charity, Chaos, providing holidays and support for children in poverty.
As a Leyton Orient supporter he founded the Orientear fanzine in 1986. Under Dave’s stewardship, the magazine spoke out against racism, against the Thatcher government’s putative ID card scheme and for greater fan democracy in football. He also cultivated a vibrant social scene around the magazine, organising matches with other clubs’ supporters. In recent years he was on the board of the Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust and was busy in the fight to save the club from controversial ownership in 2017.
He took up marathon running in 2001 and was a member of the East London Runners club. He also had a lifelong enjoyment of music and gig-going, boasting a vast and eclectic record collection, spanning anything from Prince to Mott the Hoople to punk and new wave.
After retirement he continued his connection with Waltham Forest Trades Council, which he chaired for many years, supported campaigns on housing, poverty and anti-racism, and spent quality time with his wife, Anne (nee Walker), whom he had married in 1978.
He is survived by Anne and their children, Joe and Ellie.
