Son appeals for lost Rolex after father dies during match
The son of a taxi driver who died after collapsing at a football match has said his family are desperate to recover his lost Rolex watch.
Jamie Gray, 31, who lives in Halstead, Essex, was watching West Ham play in Stratford, east London, with his father Kevin Gray, of Stowmarket, Suffolk, on December 9.
His 61-year-old father collapsed and died in the stadium, and his Rolex Submariner watch went missing.
“The watch stayed with him for 20 years after being given as a birthday gift and he wore it every day. We don’t care how much money it’s worth, but we want it back because it was very important to him, ” Jamie Gray said.
The finance manager posted an appeal on Instagram saying his family are desperate to get the “sentimental” watch back, believed to be worth around £14,000.
He said, “Dad was one of the nicest guys, he would do anything for anyone. He was taking me to see West Ham games since I was five years old.”
“People have offered to raise money to buy a new watch but we don’t want a new watch, we just want our dad’s watch.
He said, “We will never sell it, we just want to keep it in the family and hand it down to our children. It reminds them of them and we will do everything we can to get it back.”
His father, who had three grandchildren and was a taxi driver in Sudbury, Suffolk, showed no signs of being ill before suddenly collapsing five minutes before the end of the game.
The St. John Ambulance steward and physician carried him up some stairs to a flat surface to begin CPR and the watch disappeared.
He said, “I think it’s an innocent accident, maybe it fell over. We won’t be holding any complaints or holding anyone accountable, we just want it returned.”
The family reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police, who said in a statement that officers were “making all relevant inquiries to trace the watch” but that no arrests had been made “at this early stage”.
A London Stadium spokesperson said, “We would like to express our condolences to the family. We are assisting the football club by examining the CCTV footage from Monday evening.”
