Richard Sanders (3 Sep 1968 - 14 May 2025)

In loving memory of Richard Sanders who sadly passed away on 14th May 2025.

Richard was a happy, healthy little boy, with a lively interest in the world around him and a good sense of fun and humour. He was a rebel and defied convention, being thrown out of school age 16 because he had a Mohican haircut.

He developed an interest in Punk Rock as a teenager. He met Sid Vicious’s mum some time after Sid Vicious’s death and adopted the name Sid as his street name, by which he became well known.

He did apprenticeship training and got his first job Silk Screen Printing at age 17. He was considering making a career of this, but was devastated when he lost the job through no fault of his own. It seemed his employers wanted to employ cheaper student labour in the Summer holidays. He did not accept defeat but got straight on the phone looking for work.

His working life was mainly in the construction industry, ranging from casual labour to skilled forklift truck driving, for which he was trained and did well. He took a qualification in Railway maintenance, scoring highly, but never got to work on the Railways.

He emigrated to Sweden and got married in 1989 and, having learned the language, got a job in Ikea. He and his wife moved to England, where he worked in an English branch of Ikea. Sadly, the marriage did not last, as they were both homesick in each other’s countries, but they remained in touch and became friends on Social Media.

He had many friends of both sexes and usually remained on good terms with his ex-girlfriends. His female friends liked him a lot because he treated them with respect. He defended vulnerable people who were bullied and on occasion saved people’s lives, through prompt action when they had accidentally overdosed on drugs. He loved nature and animals, and rescued injured wild creatures including a squirrel and a dove.

He had many losses in his life, starting with a little schoolfriend who drowned when he was only 4 years old. Richard asked: “Why?” – to which, of course, there was no answer.

As the years went by, he lost more and more friends through drug and alcohol overdose, suicide and accident. He often felt he was the only one left. Shortly before his own death, he lost another close friend, Kiwi, and this hit him hard. He managed to track down the friend’s daughter to let her know.

He was a freethinker with an enquiring mind, and had a lot of knowledge of history and ancient belief systems and civilisations. He was very interested in the work of Nikola Tesla and his dream of free electricity for everyone. He was fascinated by the pyramids, their purpose and how they were built, long before the technology we have today.

He had a larger than life personality with a unique and unconventional outlook on life, and he truly did it his way. He will be forever missed.