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RamZone Remembers Steve Tickle
RamZone Remembers Steve Tickle
Wednesday, 10th Dec 2014 06:58 by Elaine Dean, Arild Sand & Daniel Sewart

Steve Tickle was one of the original writers for RamZone, a man respected and cared for by all who had the good fortune of knowing him. Sadly Steve recently passed away very suddenly and this is our tribute to him.

RamZone Editor — Daniel Sewart:

“As the current editor of RamZone, my memories of Steve were all of the email variety due to the fact that I live in Australia.

Steve was a man generous with his time and always on hand with an idea, suggestion and advice when required. As a fellow writer, I valued his opinion and even after he stepped away from writing for the site — would pop up with a witty comment or opinion from time to time. I will miss that.

RIP Steve.“


The first editor of RamZone was Arild Sand; he shares some memories from when RamZone was in its infancy:

“Who could have known that when a 14 year old boy from Norway started up a simple website about his favourite football team, it would bring people together across continents and form lifelong friendships.

I knew Steve Tickle for half of my life as he was one of the first, if not the first, to join the RamZone team, helping a kid and his dad create a website about Derby County.

Steve was always one of the standout members of the team, ever loyal and a very talented writer.

We had many interesting conversations about culture differences and language. Steve told me he used to have a pen-pal from Sweden so he had learnt some Swedish and could use that to understand some Norwegian.

He even came to visit my hometown even though I told him there were more interesting places to see in Norway, but he wanted to see us and where we lived.

He brought his daughter Laura and as part of their visit, we all went to see a football match with my local team.

Rest in peace Steve.”

Steve at Odd Grenland In Norway with his daughter Laura & Arild— May 2005


One of Steve’s fellow writers on RamZone became his close friend; Elaine Dean shares her memories:

“I first met Steve when I joined the RamZone team around 1999 when it was the football websites' equivalent of the Guardian. It had some very talented writers and Steve was one of the best. The title of his column amused me: 'Tickle Tackle'.

His standard of writing was very high — as indeed it was of all the writers then: Arild and Einar Sand, Duncan Harris, Stuart Hughes, Ann Dawson and Rob Turner among others. I had something to live up to!

We had a mailing list — my first experience of such a thing — and Steve was one of the most helpful people on it. He always seemed to be about to offer assistance on a verb tense or a better adjective.

When we had a team get together it was always good fun and Steve and I became firm friends.

He persuaded me to join various other mailing lists and to join him meeting up with overseas Rams fans when they came over to see the team. We often met up at half time and we went out for meals with the visitors."

RamZone get together in 2002 - left to right: Rob Turner, Duncan Harris, Steve Tickle, Arild San, Einar Sand, Elaine Dean.


"In 2002 I had a bad year as my mother died suddenly and my life was turned upside down. Football took a back seat as did websites and most other things and I 'disappeared' for six months. It was Steve who telephoned and said that there was to be a large public meeting to look at forming a supporters trust and that an organisation called Supporters Direct were looking for someone experienced at chairing large public meetings of a co-operative nature to preside over the proceedings.

There was no doubt that I fitted the criteria! Quite reluctantly I went along and chaired that historic meeting and Steve took me round introducing me to people from Ramsnet. The rest is history, we set up RamsTrust and I became the first Chair while Steve became the webmaster. Other people came and went and some returned but Steve and I worked on and kept the organisation running.

Steve was a fantastic webmaster, a perfectionist as always and he set very high standards."

RamZone get together 2005 - left to right: (standing) Jim Wheeler, Steve Tickle, Arild Sand, David Mortimer, Duncan Harris, Daniel Brooks, Paul Mortimer — (seated) Elaine Dean and Einar Sand.


"RamZone changed from the Rivals network to Fans Network and Daniel Sewart took over from Arild Sand as webmaster. Steve and I both wrote less and less for RamZone and did more for the trust but we both wanted to stay friends with all the RamZone team past and present.

Facebook came along and that was even better, we spoke every day on Facebook and collected ourselves some mutual friends especially in Norway.

When Arild got married in 2012 Steve intended to come to Norway for the 'European part' of the wedding (the first part having taken place in Kentucky!) with my husband Peter and I.

However, at the specific dates there was no-one to care for Steve's elderly father, aged in his 90s and registered blind. So Steve had to stay home (he had visited the Sand family previously) but he gave lots of helpful advice as he did when we followed his visit to the Orkneys in 2013 and he was planning on visiting Norway in 2015 to see Arild and his wife Evelyn's daughter Pia.

I last physically saw Steve at the end of April 2014 when Einar paid a flying visit to Derby and we all went out for dinner — it was a lovely evening and Steve was in good form."

Elaine, Einar and Steve, 3 great friends at the Slice of India restaurant - April 2014.


"To hear that such a lively, intelligent, fun loving man who seemed in the peak of good health had died of a heart attack overnight was shocking and beyond belief. We had only spoken on Facebook on his last day alive and he had the previous week posted an article I had requested by Chris Williamson MP on the RamsTrust website.

My husband Peter and I attended Steve's funeral along with other Ramsnet and RamsTrust friends, representing many others around the world that Steve had befriended.

I am heartbroken at his death and am pleased to be staying friends with his daughters, his ex wife with whom he had such a warm relationship and with some of his local friends in Woodville, South Derbyshire.

RIP Steve, your friendship and good humour will never be forgotten.”


RamZone sends condolences to all of Steve’s family and friends

A great friend to us all - taken far too soon.






Photo: Action Images



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RamsTrust added 13:30 - Dec 10
Commiserations from all of us at RamsTrust too - Steve will be very sorely missed :-(
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