Sad news

I am sorry to report that Richard (Generator) erstwhile member of this forum has passed away of a heart attack in hospital.

I don't want to go into detail on a public forum as to the circumstances, suffice to say he suffered some devastating personal news which led him to attempt to take his own life. An act he never fully recovered from.

From all reports he was a very talented photographer in his chosen field. What a terrible waste. RIP Richard

That is very sad to hear.

Very sad news.

Yes, very sad.

Thanks for posting this Jim, I was about to start a thread myself when I saw this. I do feel that I should set the record straight on one or two things, I feel very strongly about this and although the Forum is not a place to hang out dirty washing, there have been some very unsavoury comments on certain threads and I think this should be a lesson to all of us.

First of all, Richard never posted any images on this website. This may have led some people to think that he had no photographic skill or knowledge, but this cannot be further from the truth. Richard was a highly skilled journalistic photographer, this was his profession, not a hobby. He went on assignments all over the world and won many awards and accolades for his work. However, deep down I think he had a lack of self confidence and maybe this is why he didn't post his images on PU.

Secondly, after returning to the UK following a lengthy assignment in Russia, he learned of some devastating news. I am not going to detail what this was, but suffice to say it destroyed his life. At that time, some of you may remember a thread on here where Richard 'lost it' with various members and posted a number of comments which some found funny. I knew why this was happening but I could not and would not have let on, as you can imagine I did not find it funny, the poor guy was going through a personal breakdown in front of our eyes.

Finally and most importantly is what we should all learn from this. We should never post offensive personal comments about anyone, we should never make assumptions about the meaning of the written word as we do not understand the context of what was behind the writing, we should never make judgements about anyone without knowing all of the facts. Sadly, there are numerous occasions where some members have ignored these principles, but I hope that Richard's sad passing will make us all stop and think.

I would ask you all to please respect what I am posting here by only making appropriate comments on this thread. I pass my sincere condolences to Richard's family and friends.

Regards
David

Very sad news. I met Richard when he had an exhibition of his work in Northwich, he was very pleasant and amiable.

Regards,

Howard

RIP Richard

Very sad news.

Yes very sad indeed

Very sad news indeed. And thank you David Storm for posting a bit of background to the thread where Richard seemed to have 'lost it'.

It is very very sad news. It was clear he was under some enormous personal pressure, but that it should end like this is just tragic.

My thoughts and condolences to all who knew him.

So sad to hear news like that.

Unfortunately, if you haven't spent time with somebody going through a breakdown, you can't even imagine what it's like.

My sincerest thoughts are going to his family and friends.

Rest peacefully.

That is very sad news and my thoughts go to Richard's family. I would like to thank David for his very thoughful and forthright post. I agree with all he has said.

My sincere condolences to Richards Family.Thank you David for your thoughtful input.

Ken R

Sad loss. Condolences for the family and friends.