Dave Hewins

It is with great sadness that I write to say that Dave Hewins has rolled a double one and passed away recently.  

Dave had been a long time member of the Grimsby Wargames society and had an extensive collection of figures and models covering a variety of periods.  His figures were always nicely presented and of superb quality.  Whilst being difficult to play against he was always pleasant and polite and I don't ever remember him losing his temper during a game no matter how the game was going. 

Dave in green on the right

Dave was not just a member of the Society but also a supporter of the club as the owner of "D. Hewins Models & Hobbies" (members got a discount in his store).

One of the reasons I've taken a while to write this post is because, with his passing, it makes some of my favourite memories shine that little bit dimmer.

As a child I would spend a few weeks every year with my grandparents who lived on the other side of the country.  At the end of their street was a model shop where my grandfather and I spent many hours searching for the next thing to build together,  to paint together or simply just to marvel at the sheer number of kits on the shelves.

Walking in to Dave's shop always brought those memories back.  His shop was brim full of model kits, boxes of toy soldiers, model cars, model railways.  A traditional model shop of the kind that many of us of a certain age remember being our introduction in where to spend our pennies on our hobby.  Grimsby was unusual in that we had a number of these type of shops, far more than other larger towns it always seemed to me.  Dave was the last of these.  

Internet shopping is easy.  One click and you've bought what you need and you just need to wait for the delivery.  Simple.  But not the same as walking into a shop and spending time talking to the owner (on a quiet day Dave had even offered me a coffee too) about the new arrivals, the next "big" thing, or whether to use 1mm or 2mm ply for your project.  A Saturday morning shopping in the town center wasn't complete for me without popping in to his shop.

I'm going to miss all that and the world is a lesser place for the closing of another chapter in the history of the hobby in the town.