MANY tributes to Jack Walker took the form of funny stories about his life.

Family friend David Brown recalled the time in the early days when the firm had a big order to produce steel food containers for Calderstones hospital. On the delivery day Jack's trusty Morris Eight had packed up.

"So Jack loaded up a handcart and pushed it the eight miles there himself!"

As a boss he demanded the same effort and grit he put it and his senior managers were used to frequent firings -- before Jack took them back on again a few minutes later!

Once, a colleague asked Jack for £100 to sponsor a local football team.

When he found out that the team was Burnley FC, he sacked him, but only to ring him up a few minutes later and give him his job back." In his office hung a saying "I am always right. If I am wrong see above."

Mr Brown spoke of Jack's excitement when a new chippy opened in St Helier which did a fish supper how he liked it from back home.

"I even know of a Michelin starred restaurant where he used to be served fish and chips with the chips in a page from the Financial Times!"

Once Jack and wife Carole were staying in an exclusive hotel in Paris where Jack was involved in a hush hush signing bid for Rovers.

Jack was just about to get dressed when a room service knock came at the door.

Just before the bellboy came into the room a naked and embarrassed Jack climbed into the wardrobe to hide.

The bellboy wanted to know if the guests would like any papers for the morning.

"Yes", came a shout from the wardrobe. "And make sure you bring up the sports pages."

Mr Brown said he had been to Ewood on Tuesday to look at the messages left by Rovers fans. One was a poem left by a John Fell, entitled An Inadequate Tribute, which included the lines, "I really need to thank him for the pride he gave us back. Just for a while we were the best thanks to Uncle Jack."

And aptly a framed print of the poem takes pride of place among the tributes and flowers laid opposite the main entrance of the magnificent Jack Walker Stand.