It is with great sadness that we have to report that our friend and colleague, David Johnson, passed away peacefully at home with his family, on 22 September 2009.

David joined Whiteburn in 2005 and instantly added his unique brand of inquisitiveness, rigour and dogged determination to our business. Coupled with a warm sense of humour, but a clear firmness in his day to day dealings, he displayed a real grasp of how the human being functions and reacts well beyond words on a lease or numbers in a development proposal. His insights and convictions added untold value to Whiteburn's activities.

David took ill last summer and underwent a serious operation to remove a tumour in his pancreas. This was followed over the winter by all the discomforts that a course of chemotherapy brings, but his spirits remained high and he worked (and ate) his way back to fitness in the spring of 2009.

We were all concerned when after a limited period of consultancy work, he reported feeling ill again and once again submitted to more tests during the summer of 2009. In his own quiet way, he tried to fight it and keep our concerns at bay. After 2 blood transfusions in three weeks, it became clear that the cancer was truly established in his liver and his condition deteriorated with horrifying speed.

His tragic end at 43 years old will leave a huge hole in his lovely family - and for us at Whiteburn, we've lost a very good friend.

Tributes have been flooding in, in memory of David from friends/colleagues. You can read what kind words people had to say on our tributes page