Newport Bus Dedicate EV to Newport Legend, David Hando B.E.M

Newport Bus dedicate EV to Newport Legend, David Hando B.E.M commemorating his memory two years since his passing. 

"David Hando BEM was a well-known son of the City of Newport, born on the 7th April 1938. David lived the majority of his life in the city of his birth, and he dedicated most of that time serving Newport and its people. A family man, David and his wife Mary had 3 sons and 6 grandsons who all still live locally."

As local bus providers for the City of Newport, our intention is to ensure David's legacy travels far and wide, as we operate our bus services throughout Newport and in other South Wales regions, by naming a bus, fleet number ‘Z40’ in his honour. 

This dedication could not be made possible without the help and guidance of David's family, who, rightly so, want to ensure that David is remembered for his accomplishments, his commitment to the community and his love of all things Newport.

Best known for his work for football in the city, David was instrumental in Newport having a Football Club today. 

Newport County Football Club, the Ironsides, were formed in 1912. They had a few notable highlights, including a 3rd Division Championship and promotion to Division 2 (today’s Championship) in 1939. Their 4th Division promotion and Welsh Cup win of 1980 brought one season of European Cup Winners Cup football to Newport. The run in that competition sadly ended at the Quarter Final stage in front of 18,000 fans at Somerton Park in 1981. 

Only 8 years later following two relegations, Newport County lost their Football League status and went out of business. David had made his own efforts to help the “old” club, by introducing and running the Subscription Draw and was part of the setting up of the County Lottery. He even raised a £1000 by performing a parachute jump. Unfortunately, despite his and the efforts of many others, Newport lost their Football Club in 1989. 

A small group of supporters refused to let this be the end and David became the first Chairman of the fledgling Club, Newport AFC in June 1989. (10 years later, the name Newport County AFC would be restored). There were many obstacles that had to be overcome, starting with having no team, no ground and no help from the local Council or the Welsh Football authorities. Against all the odds, David and his dedicated group of men and women managed to start again at the bottom of the football pyramid, having to play their home games in exile, over 70 miles away from Newport at Moreton in Marsh in Gloucestershire. 

The mission was always to restore league football for Newport. After a successful first season, progress back up the leagues was slow, with numerous difficulties along the way. The Council did come to help, but the Welsh Football Association put pressure on the new club to join the League of Wales. This would have ended the dream of returning to the English Football League, where the old County had played for over 70 years.

David and his brave band of workers took on the Welsh FA and twice saw them in court, for restraint of trade as another period of exile was required, this time slightly closer, at Gloucester City. At the High Court, David and his team won the day and football was able to return to the City of Newport. David worked tirelessly, in those early, pre-internet days, writing thousands of letters and making even more phone calls. A modest man, he would always say it was a team effort. However, it was his leadership and perseverance that drove the success and ultimately a football club in Newport today. 

In 2013, 25 years after losing their Football League status, Newport County AFC were promoted back to the fourth tier (League 2) in a dramatic Wembley Playoff Final win over Wrexham. When asked about it, David simply said “Mission accomplished”. David by now was Honorary President of the Football Club. He, like the rest of the city, was able to experience and welcome bigger clubs back to Newport with some memorable FA Cup games at our latest home, Rodney Parade. The journey continues, today, albeit without him. David was inducted into the Club’s Hall of Fame in 2015.

Football was far from being David’s only life and service to Newport. His “real” job was as a teacher. David taught in a number of schools in the city and beyond. He was quite pleased when some of his former Hartridge students became players (and Managers) for Newport County AFC.

Having read History, Politics and Economics at University, it was not surprising that David would try a career in Politics. After coming close to becoming an MP in the 1970’s David turned to local government and finally became a Liberal Democrat Newport City Councillor for Beechwood Ward in Newport. In his time on the Council, David became a Cabinet Member. It’s fair to say, David put his heart and soul into everything he did.

David’s other Newport interest was the iconic Transporter Bridge. 

Never one to just watch from afar, David became involved over many years with the Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge, which was set up to keep the bridge going, as its future was in the balance. As chairman of this group, he visited other transporter bridges around the world, such as Spain, Argentina and Middlesbrough. He was involved in negotiations to secure grants that kickstarted the restoration work and help build the new visitor centre at the Transporter Bridge. 

David wrote and published two books, - “Fred J. Hando – A Proud Son of Gwent”.  This tells the work of another well-known Hando from Newport. Fred Hando was a local headmaster, author and artist. He was David’s Great Uncle. David’s second, entitled “The Exiles” tells the story about the first 10 years of Newport AFC.

A very proud moment in David’s life was when, in 2016 he was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to football and the community of Newport.  Although the presentation was made locally by the Lord Lieutenant, he and Mary were able to enjoy a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

A remarkable servant of Newport, David Hando passed away in January 2023. Even after his death, his legacy remains. He was always finding ways to help others. 

Special thanks once again go to David's family for their help in honouring David's memory.