Goodbye Dave

[Trevor B]

It is with great regret that I heard this morning that Dave Kent (The Duke) has passed away
For the many fans that knew him he will be remembered mostly when wearing his black & white checked top hat at home and away games.
He was a converted Maidstone United supporter that I brought on board many years ago when my wife and I met up with him and his wife and I suggested that he come along to a Darts game and he never looked back.
He has many fans as friends on this website and he will be sadly missed and just as a reminder I show below the last post that he made
God bless and goodbye Dave

Hi fellow Dart fans ,l1st team shirt ots of thinks have happened to me since September 2024 which meant that despite buying a season ticket and a 1st team shirt I was [for health reasons] unable to get to both home and way away but managed to stay in touch through the Forum plus match/gossip from Gilesy and Jonti whose Texts and Phone calls ere invaluable and they have proven to be real friend s, even calls from ^ Pete aka "The bishop of Tranmere" were enjoyed

obvoiusly like the rest I was disappointed that we didnt get promoted but Ade did a great job in bringing a " Genuinity " back to the club [[ after the previous clown "] and building a team from scratch and gaining the REAL Fans confidence , I was pro him from the start and delighted it worked out so well

As for the coming season I will be tuned in for Games and really looking forward to listening and the Forum and the new web site is impressive I will be buying a 1st team shirt in August which Jonty will collect for me at the DFSA shop [,which 1am a member and hoping to win the warbler monthly draw
Unlikeky that I will be able to physically get to PP but who knows still got an active brain re football even IF the body wont behave and will be adding my thoughts/cmments on the matches

So enjoy the season , I aim too !!!!!!

Regards
DAVE

[The 5th Searcher]

I echo the words of Trev B, Dave was not only a fellow Darts fan but also a very good & close friend of mine & my family and many a social gathering was had from weekends away to meals out and plenty of drink consumed.

Dave always had a joke or a story to tell which kept people in his company amused.

He is certainly going to be missed both as a good friend but also on the terraces and in the bar before games.

My thoughts & condolences go out to his wife Helen & his 2 daughters Jo & Amy as well as his 4 grandchildren.

Rest In Peace Dave, God bless ya mate.

[Undercover Elephant]

Gonna miss this guy he was such a good friend and had many funny away days with him, one I was reminded of was Weston Super Mare he started drinking early brought four cans of beer drunk them and said he couldn’t keep up with us.

His wife Helen let me speak to him thankfully before he passed away and I got to say goodbye I knew it was coming just hoped not so soon.

Always in our prayers

COYD’s

[Park Life]

Such sad news, a great guy who will be sadly missed.

RIP mate and condolences to the family.

[KSTDART]

This is such sad news , the Duke was such an amazing guy who loved his days watching Dartford.
I remember when we won the Ryman north at Edgware and as we were celebrating we bumped into each other resulting in Duke falling on his arse to howls of laughter. He was always a pleasure to be around with his quick wit and sense of humour.
RIP Duke , you will be missed.


The Duke leading the celebrations at Edgware with his famous hat and airhorn

[Tony H]

Sad news. RIP Mr Kent.

[Sleightly Deceptive]

Very sad news.

[Skip]

Really sad news. Last time I had a really good chat with Duke was in the bar at Dulwich about 4-5 years ago when we covered all sorts of football related matter! Having read Duke’s post (copied on here by Trev) that he was in ill health it made me think of my own mortality. So many Darts supporters I have known and grown up with have now passed.

RIP Dave (and your black and white chequered hat)

[DA Mikey]

RIP Duke [No.2]
Top man.

[rambo]

Very sad to hear of Duke’s passing. He was a true fan of DFC. Whenever we passed each on the terraces we would always stop for a chat. He was a gentleman and will not be forgotten.
I send my condolences to his family and friends and to Trevor and 5th who were very close to Duke

[Lars Resort]

Very sad news re Dave. Always one to often do a very confusing post (at times) but getting a laugh in doing so.
RIP fella you will no doubt be missed by many.
Condolences to his family.

[terrydfc]

remeber meeting him at met police game years ago with his hat
he took me on board and welcomed me to the dartford family
rip duke

[Ozytalksbull]

RIP spoke with this gent many times back in the Ryman days in the bar and on the terraces
He really was a proper Dartford fan
Sad times
Respect and regards to his family and friends

[PeteSamson]

Absolutely devastated to receive this news yesterday from Jonty as I was in my local club watching the Liverpool v Everton derby in my local social club up on Merseyside. What timing!! as Duke often said he enjoyed watching Liverpool and their style of play.

It was through Trevor B,(we were both past pupils at the Dartford Technical High School in Wilmington back in the 1960's that I got to know Duke back in the days of the Darts playing our games at Ebbsfleet, It was at a time that I reconnected with the Darts because of the efforts of Gary Clark running the original PureDFC website and I was able to follow the fortunes of the Darts and been a Darts follower ever since, and as Duke commented in his last post, I was tagged as the Bishop of Tranmere on the website by Gary Clark back in the day.

The Duke had been hoping that he would have been well enough to have attended the last home game of last season, but sadly, his illness, even back then, prevented him from attending that game v Carshalton.

Even as his illness progressed though, Dave' s mind was fully active and his love of football, especially the Darts, shone through brightly, as did his love of 1960's music.

For me, and for many, Dave has become a legend over the past 20 years plus. An incredible character, and always a pleasure to meet around the round table in the main bar and listening to his stories whenever I was able to travel down from Merseyside to PP for my Darts fix. He is especially to be remembered for his black and white top hat too.

I was hoping that somebody would be able to post a photo of Dave on this thread. So Kevin, thank you so much for resurrecting and uploading that excellent video of the Darts celebrating our Championship win at Edgware. It bought tears to my eyes at this sad time.

Rest in Peace Dave. Already missed on the terraces.

Condolences to Helen and family

[ozymandias]

I didn't know Dave to talk to but I had seen him around various grounds throughout. Obviously a very popular man.
Of course I had read his posts on here and then at a game and you put two and two together.
Condolences to his family, he will be sadly missed by all.

[Grassbank]

Sorry to read this sad news today. I only knew The Duke from standing close by him at many matches and through joining the general discussion about the game in front of us. He truely loved his football.

I send my condolences to his family and close friends.

[Jonty]

What an incredibly nice guy Dave was. I had met with him on several occasions recently, the last time was last Wednesday before I went on holiday. It was always an enjoyable/eventful day out with Duke, especially listening to all of his old stories of life on the road as a salesman. He loved watching the Darts and all the banter on terraces with his mates. I will leave you all a link below to the great Albert Lee, who Dave introduced me to.

Sincere condolences to Helen & Family. God bless x

[Taunton Dart]

It was always a pleasure to catch up with The Duke - great fun to be in his company! Condolences to his family and his massive circle of friends. A DFC Legend!!

[Lars Resort]

One would like to think there will be some recognition from the club on Saturday and not a quiet one. A round of applause would be a good send off.
Too many fans go quietly and are sometimes gone and forgotten.
I'd like to think Duke will be somewhere enjoying the game and his send off.

[The 5th Searcher]

One would like to think there will be some recognition from the club on Saturday and not a quiet one. A round of applause would be a good send off.
Too many fans go quietly and are sometimes gone and forgotten.
I'd like to think Duke will be somewhere enjoying the game and his send off.

The one thing you can say about Duke, he was never quiet .

It would be a nice touch if the club could do a minutes applause for Dave, he would’ve appreciated that.