Hillsborough stories: Nicholas Peter Joynes

A married draughtsman from Liverpool, Nick Joynes travelled to the match with a number of friends, who all survived except Francis Joseph McAllister.

This is the full statement to the inquests from his brother, Paul Joynes:

My name is James Paul Joynes. I am the brother of Nicholas Peter Joynes, and I am speaking on behalf of my father, James, known as Peter Joynes, my mother, Patricia Joynes, my brother's wife, Gillian, his sister, Michelle, his sister-in-law, Elaine, his brothers-in-law, his nieces and nephews, Ian, Laura, Jessica, Sean and Emily, being the Joynes family of Lancashire:

Speaking on behalf of the Joynes family, I will say as follows in relation to Nicholas Peter Joynes, born on 20 September, 1961. He was aged 27 when he died.

My parents have had four children, three boys and a girl. I am the eldest, followed by Mark, 14 months later, and then Nicholas three years later. My sister was born some five years after Nicholas was born. Nicholas was known to us all as 'Nick'.

Nick, as a little boy, was a quiet child, but we put that down to the fact that he had two older brothers, who tended to look after him.

Talented footballer

Although Nick was not an academic child, he got on quite well at school. He loved sport. His favourite sport was to play football, but he was generally a good all-rounder, enjoying athletics and cricket, also.

My Dad did try to get Nick to play golf, but he did not take to it. Nick was, however, a talented footballer and did at one point have trials at Liverpool Football Club but just didn't make the grade.

Nick played for Bootle Boys in his teens and his Dad takes great pleasure in telling people that when Nick was 14 his team won, Bootle Boys, won a local cup competition called the Dimmer Cup, and that is a cup that Jamie Carragher later played in when he was young.

We enjoyed many family holidays together, with most of them being spent in England. The family really enjoyed going to Ladram Bay in Devon, near to Exmouth, where we would often stay in a caravan.

Nick loved this place so much that, when he was 18, he returned with his friends to have a small break there.

Nick left school at 16. He immediately started an apprenticeship at OTIS elevators. Dad and Mark were already working at this company at the time, which paved the way for Nick to join them.

Nick also attended Hugh Bird College in Bootle for one day a week, studying engineering on a day release from OTIS elevators.

'Bubbly personality'

Nick had a bubbly personality and always had lots of friends. He got on well with people and enjoyed socialising, particularly at the weekends. He enjoyed the social scene in the centre of the city.

He had lots of girlfriends, but kept his liaisons and relationships away from home. Nick liked to wear fashionable clothes, and always took great pride in his appearance.

Nick's best friend was Ian Price. Ian was Nick's best man at his wedding. Although Nick had a wide range of friends, I would class him as his closest.

Ian was a hairdresser, and he would use Nick as a model for competitions he was entering. This meant that Nick would come home often with a variety of hair styles.

His Dad would then feel the need to pass comment on what he thought of the latest cut. This situation was not unusual in our family.

One day Nick returned home with a pierced ear, which he revealed during Sunday lunch, much to my Dad's disgust, and on another occasion he came home with a tattoo of a swallow. Nick, though, was able to take my Dad's comments and brush them to one side.

'Devastating news'

Nick had a real passion for music. He enjoyed listening to David Bowie, Depeche Mode and a group called Japan. He would regularly borrow vinyl records from myself and forget to return them.

Following the Hillsborough disaster, Nick's wife, Gillian handed me some vinyl records from Nick's collection, and I was only to find that some of them were mine.

This made us all laugh. His niece and nephew still play these records to this day.

In 1983, our family received the devastating news that my brother, Mark, had been killed in an accident in South Africa. He had been working there as an engineer since 1982.

My parents were away in Rhodes on holiday, and it was Nick who received the awful news from one of Mark's friends over the telephone at home.

Mark's death could have been prevented. He did not receive the appropriate medical care. Later, there was a successful prosecution.

Nick could not contemplate how Mark could have been let down so badly by the hospital in South Africa. Nick was very close to Mark and Mark's death affected him greatly.

He never got over the fact that he had lost his brother. He became very protective of us all.

Loved to travel

Nick celebrated his 21st birthday at the Kirby Civic Suite in Kirby, Merseyside. His party was well attended and was a fancy dress affair.

Nick and a group of friends went as hula girls, sporting grass skirts, and I remember my mother dressed up as a Japanese geisha girl. It was a great party.

Nick's future wife, Gillian Shaw, was also there. Shortly after this party they got together as a couple. Gillian was part of Nick's social group and they knew each other from the Hugh Bird College.

By now, Nick had secured himself an office-based job with OTIS elevators, having successfully completed his stint in the engineering department there.

Gillian was an air hostess, and because of her employment she moved from Liverpool down to East Grinstead in West Sussex. Nick would regularly travel down to see her.

We have a memory of Nick when he was about 25 and had broken his leg while playing football. Despite the cast on his leg, he would still travel down to see Gillian on his crutches.

Nick even went on holiday with his friends with his leg in plaster, and when he returned he had to have his leg reset at the local hospital.

Nick and Gillian were seeing each other for about three years before they got engaged. Due to Gillian's employment, Nick, with Gillian, were able to travel to various parts of the world which he loved to do.

He travelled to Hong Kong, Dubai, Los Angeles, New York, Spain and Greece. He loved the sun. We always called him the sun worshipper, because, given any opportunity to sunbathe, Nick would take it up.

'Beloved brother'

Nick loved Liverpool Football Club and supported them from an early age. I think it was Mark that gave Nick the passion for Liverpool FC.

Nick would go to Anfield when he could, but he didn't generally go to any away fixtures.

In March 1988, Nick and Gillian purchased a house together. They had set a date for their wedding in September 1988. They were married at St Thomas's church in Melling in Merseyside, and it was a great day for all of us.

Nick and Gillian were so happy together. They made such a lovely couple. They had so many dreams and such a great future ahead of them.

I know Nick would have made a fantastic father. His death has left a massive void in our family, and we miss him dearly.

He was a wonderful son, beloved brother, adored uncle and devoted husband. All our family feel such a tremendous loss.