Tribute to Littlehampton hero who lost his cancer battle

His family were at his bedside at St Barnabas House hospice, Worthing, when Duncan, 57, died.

Daughter Helen Todd said this week: “Everyone calls their dad a hero, but I can truly say my dad was one, because he did save Lucy’s life.”

Duncan, fresh foods manager at the store, was the first to give first aid to Lucy, after she was stabbed more than 20 times with a knife by schizophrenic Samuel Reid-Wentworth.

He was later presented with a police bravery award and a City of London Sheriff’s award in recognition of his actions on the day of the attack in September, 2008.

Seven years ago Duncan had a laryngectomy after contracting cancer and had to speak through a valve in his throat, but amid all the trauma of the attack on Lucy, then aged 20, he still managed to tell her: “We are not going to let you die.”

Over the past few months he had been fighting a new battle against cancer of the oesophagus, and had been in and out of St Barnabas House since April.

“He fought and fought and fought,” said Duncan’s wife Sharon, 53, of Armada Way, Littlehampton. “On the morning he went into St Barnabas, he still went into work. He was in the hospice for five weeks, and when he came out he thought he might go back to work. He loved to work.”

Duncan was a reluctant hero, and Sharon only found out about what he had done to save Lucy from a detective later that night.

“I didn’t know anything about it. He phoned me to say he would be a bit late home and there had been a bit of an incident at work.

“It was only when the CID lady came round to interview him that I found out what had happened.

“He went straight back to work after the attack, but that was Duncan. He never wanted any fuss, he was so unassuming.

“The police told us that if Duncan hadn’t done what he did that day, Lucy would have died.”

Duncan worked for Somerfield and its previous owners for a total of 35 years, in Berkshire, where he met Sharon when she was a Saturday girl, Dorset and Hampshire before he, Sharon and the family moved to Littlehampton in 1985.

In the late 1980s he and Sharon had shops in High Street - she ran the Fruit Box and he had the Littlehampton Butchers. But both businesses closed after five years, when the out-of-town Tesco superstore opened at Broad Piece, and Duncan went back to work at Somerfield.

“He touched so many lives,” said Sharon. “Anyone who knew him loved him. When I had the Fruit Box, a lot of children knew him as the bananaman, because he would give them a banana or some other fruit when they went past.

“He gave a chance to a lot of lads working in his shop on Saturdays, who no one else would take on, and they would do anything for him.”

Helen said: “We can’t thank the St Barnabas staff enough for what they did for my dad, from start to finish.”

Duncan leaves Sharon, Helen, son Simon and grandchildren Westleigh, eight, Tara and Daisymay, two.