Birmingham: Tributes paid to Brumpic founder David Oram

David Oram was at the heart of University of Birmingham's Covid testing programme during the pandemic

A man who built a dedicated following finding and sharing images of Birmingham through the ages has been remembered as "a true champion" of the city.

David Oram, who founded Twitter feed Brumpic and worked at University of Birmingham, died after a short illness.

His online following grew beyond 155,000 as he shared the city's past.

Mr Oram, 52, was also remembered as a "friend to countless people in the city".

Tributes were made after the news of his death was shared via the Brumpic account.

Journalist and artist Stacey Barnfield said he was "a brilliant guy who loved nothing more than telling the story of his city with humility and a laugh", adding Mr Oram would be "missed so much".

Joe Schuppler, who founded Independent Birmingham, said the news was "devastating".

"Dave was a wonderful person, a genuinely really lovely and kind human being who worked incredibly hard to champion and celebrate our city," he said.

"He never had a bad word to say about anyone."

Mr Oram set up Brumpic to share images of Birmingham over the years

A fundraising page has been set up in Mr Oram's memory for Macmillan, which supported him towards the end of his life and has already raised more than £2,000.

Malene Stanley, Director of Venues and Events at the University of Birmingham, said Mr Oram was a "great colleague and wonderful servant" of the university.

"Nothing was ever too much trouble for Dave. He always went the extra mile to support colleagues and clients," she said.

"In November 2020, the university turned to him to set up Covid testing facilities for staff and students. He did this in remarkably quick time, leading a team of dedicated colleagues who set up and ran a highly professional testing facility which helped us to keep the campus open."

Mr Oram also led on graduation ceremonies and was heavily involved in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.