'Amazing' and 'much loved' Cosham Tesco worker and Portsmouth house explosion survivor Gary Smy dies

Popular long-time Cosham Tesco employee Gary Smy passed away last week at Queen Alexandra Hospital after a number of health battles in recent months.

The ‘kind’ 57-year-old miraculously survived the Nelson Avenue house blast in North End with his mum Denise on October 22 after being pulled from the rubble by Royal Navy Petty Officer Jon Thornber.

The pair spent weeks in a specialist burns unit in Salisbury Hospital before being released into a nursing home.

Gary then moved in with his aunt Sylvia Fisher after she moved to Portsmouth to help her nephew and sister.

Despite surviving the blast - which left Gary’s hands severely burnt after it is thought he put out flames on his mum’s hair - Gary suffered a number of health issues this year.

He spent three weeks in Queen Alexandra after suffering with sepsis and pneumonia in March - as well as a bout of Covid.

The admission came just days after a welcome back party by colleagues at Tesco where he worked for 34 years - his whole adult life.

On that occasion, Gary was welcomed back to the store amid huge fanfare from his adoring staff and public who got to know him so well following his work on the tills.

The regard he was held in was illustrated with a £7,000 cheque donated to him following a community fundraising drive led by the store to help him get back on his feet after losing most of his belongings in the blast.

Colleagues from 25 stores across the south, including some as far away as Poole, Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight, joined the effort. Donations were also handed in by customers and businesses across Cosham.

After being handed the cheque as well as numerous gifts, which included a 58-inch widescreen TV and PlayStation 4, Gary said: ‘I’m just overwhelmed and shocked. I wasn’t expecting anything like this.

‘It means a lot to me. It makes me feel like I’m appreciated. I feel very special today.’

Colleague Lyn Bloodworth, who has been at the store for 36 years, said at the time: ‘Gary is just an amazing bloke. He is such a nice man and he is nice to everybody.’

Fellow staff member Julie Barnes also said: ‘He is an amazing man. He will do anything for anyone. Customers love him. He hasn’t got a bad bone in his body.’

Penny Storey, whose mother suffered a panic attack while shopping several years ago, said: ‘I will never forget Gary’s kindness. When my mum was having a panic attack he was incredibly patient. He made her feel like she didn’t have to rush. He was amazing.’

Gary did go back to work in the store briefly after his glittering welcome-back bash before health struggles started to plague him.

In June he had open heart surgery but survived the ordeal before passing away in hospital on Tuesday last week.

Sylvia, paying tribute, said: ‘Gary was the nicest person you could ever meet. You could never go anywhere in the community without someone saying “hello Gary”. The whole of Cosham knew him. People would queue to go to his till and chat with him.

‘There’s been tears from the staff after they were told. It’s been terrible. The women who work there were all like second mums to him. He worked there his whole adult life.

‘He was so kind and never any bother to anyone. It’s been like an earthquake to everyone. He didn’t deserve what happened to him.’

Reflecting on Gary’s warm personality and dedication to his work, Sylvia said: ‘In Tesco, he had two mystery shoppers go to his till on different occasions to judge the quality of his service. He got 100 per cent both times.

‘He got called to the manager’s office and was a bit worried. But he was given a letter of thanks and a plaque for his efforts.

‘The store gave him some vouchers to mark his service in 2013 and he just wanted to take all his family out for a meal. That was Gary for you. Even as a child he would hand out sweets to other children without being asked.

‘Gary could be slow with learning things at first but when he picked it up he was great and was brilliant with technical things.

‘He would always do anything to help people and came to the rescue on many occasions. One time he was on the tills and a lady had a panic attack and he calmed her down, put her shopping through and into a bag and called a taxi. He got sent a card saying how grateful she was to Gary.

‘He loved planes - from Spitfires to Wellington bombers - and said to me that when he was better we could go on one.’

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Rob Milner, store manager of Tesco in Cosham, said: ‘Gary was an amazing person and much loved by colleagues, customers and the local community around Tesco Cosham.

‘The local community helping to raise over £7,000, after him and his mum were caught in a gas explosion last year, is a testament to the kind of person he was and shows how appreciated he was in the community.

‘With over 34 years of service, Gary was part of the fabric of the shop, so we are hoping to get as many past and present colleagues and customers to come together to celebrate his life.

‘We plan to make this final journey a special one, with everyone he knew there to say goodbye.’

A book of condolences will be in the store for people to sign.

Details of when Gary’s funeral will take place have not been confirmed yet but the service will be at Portchester Crematorium and can be viewed online to those unable to make it.