I never knew my dad, but it turns out he was a bit of a Del Boy: How son who had no memories of his father after he died in car crash in the 1980s built a ‘persona’ of him after posting photo to local Facebook group

•  Lee Williamson’s father Ian died aged 23 in a car crash when Lee was just two 

A creative director with almost no memories of his father who died when he was two was able to ‘build a persona’ of him thanks to an old photo and a local Facebook group.

Lee Williamson’s father, Ian, died aged 23 in a car crash before his son was old enough to remember him.   

Without many ways of finding out more about him, Lee uploaded one of the few photos of the pair together from 1983 to a High Wycombe Facebook group in the hope someone could help.

‘I wasn’t quite sure where it was taken, but I just knew it was from High Wycombe somewhere, so one of my friends – who lives in High Wycombe – said to leave it with a couple of his friends but they weren’t sure,’ said Lee, 42, who lives in Lanesborough, Co Longford, Ireland. 

‘So, I posted it in a Facebook group and lots of people started interacting with it. I had no idea that was going to happen.’

Lee Williamson as a baby with his father Ian, who died in a car crash aged 23 

Liz Parry, 62, who used to babysit Lee, happened across the post and from there a phone call was set up between the pair on Friday.

Ms Parry, who lives in Iver, Buckinghamshire, said that as soon as she saw the picture, she recognised both Lee and his father as she lived next door to them on Hylton Road, High Wycombe, for two or three years.

‘I used to help the family out by babysitting them and we’d spend time together at games evenings or would have drinks together,’ she said.

She said Lee’s late father was always on the lookout for a ‘good deal to give the family a good home’.

‘[Lee] was always happy and laughing and smiling and wanting to play,’ she added.

Lee Williamson’s father, Ian, died aged 23 before his son was old enough to remember him

‘He was a really happy little baby.’

She said the conversation with him on Friday was a ‘lovely’ way to catch up after so many years.

‘That little baby that I used to look after is now in his 40s and has his own children,’ she said.

‘It’s nice to see how well he is doing now as well because I wondered what happened to the family after they left (the area) after Ian’s passing.’

Lee said: ‘The chat on the phone was nice.

‘I found out he was a bit of a Del Boy character, he was always looking for a way to make a business and was only 23 when he died.’

Liz Parry when she was around 19 or 20 (Liz Parry/PA)

‘I didn’t really know that he was my father until I was 10 – when I stumbled upon a bunch of documents in the attic while playing with a Scalectrix car toy – and so I didn’t really have any memory of him to be able to build a persona of who my father used to be.

‘I have two of my own kids now, so can talk to them about stories about their grandad – it just gives you a sense of closure.’

Lee said it was ‘nice’ to see Facebook lead to something ‘positive’.

‘Everyone who replied was very encouraging and it showed that High Wycombe is a very nice place to be and the people that lived there had fond memories.’

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