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For years, the founder of Arsenal FC was buried in an unmarked grave in Coventry.

But today that was finally put right when the man behind one of the world's greatest football clubs was finally given the resting place he deserves.

After months of discussion, research, and planning, a service was held at London Road Cemetery to unveil a brand new headstone in honour of David Danskin.

It was an emotional day for many, with relatives of David jetting in to Coventry from as far afield as Canada and Australia, just for this occasion.

They were joined by footballing royalty, as Arsenal legend Pat Rice was one of a delegation from the club itself - which also included the managing director of the club, Vinai Venkatesham.

Fans from both Arsenal and Coventry City were too in attendance, as, though the club ultimately paid for the headstone, it was largely a fan effort to make the day the occasion that it was.

The service

The service itself was held at the graveside at London Road Cemetery, on a sunny spring day in Coventry.

Fittingly, the Reverend Canon David Stone, sub-dean of Coventry Cathedral conducted the service - making the point that the Arsenal logo bears a cannon, hence the club's nickname being the Gunners.

Short speeches were given by Ian Woolley - chairman of the Friends of the London Road Cemetery and Mike Buchanan, chairman of Arsenal Scotland.

Richard Wyatt, grandson of David Danskin, who flew over from Canada for the service, spoke about David's life and career.

He said: "Today we are recognising and celebrating the life of David Danskin and the other close members of his family that are laid to rest here, in London Road Cemetery, Coventry.

"David was born at Burntisland in Fife, Scotland on January 9, 1863.

"After serving his engineering apprenticeship in Kirkcaldy, David made the brave decision to move to London and employment at the Arsenal Munition factory in Woolwich.

"Here, along with some fellow workers he formed a works football team in 1886 named Dial Square, later renamed Royal Arsenal FC.

"This evolved into Woolwich Arsenal FC and finally Arsenal FC as it is today known the world over.

"David is acknowledged as being the founder and first captain of Arsenal Football Club in 1886.

"After his playing days were over, David moved to Coventry to join the fledgling motor car industry, working at Standard Motors.

"Sadness struck in 1916 when his beloved wife Georgina Danskin passed away. David bought this plot at that time for his wife.

"Georgina's death was followed by her brother Nicholas Harradon in 1918, much later by David's second wife's mother, his mother in law, Ellen Richardson in 1939. David was the final addition to his plot in 1948.

"David and his second wife Rose Clara were blessed with three children in Coventry and remained in the area until the children became adults and their lives progressed with their new families.

"This may be considered a very unusual combination of family members, but what foresight from David and what a legacy he has left behind him!"

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Arsenal legend gives his thoughts

One of the attendees today was Pat Rice, who made 397 appearances for Arsenal, and almost two decades as assistant manager.

He said: "Without him (David Danskin), we probably wouldn't have Arsenal Football Club, because he was the man who started it off as Woolwich Arsenal, and we're absolutely delighted to be here, and the actual headstone is beautiful, really beautiful.

"The people who have done it, especially Arsenal Football Club, have really done us proud.

"I must confess, it wasn't until last week that I actually heard of the name David Danskin, but, as with everything that people connected with the Arsenal do, it's a real real pleasure to be here.

"It's brilliant, it's absolutely brilliant.

"When you consider, it's a Monday, people have got to go to work, and also, with his distant family, who've actually come over from all over the world really."

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How did we get here?

Ian Woolley of the Friends of London Road Cemetery got the ball rolling, when he discovered the grave site.

He said: "Probably about six or eight years ago I discovered that there was an unmarked grave in the cemetery for David Danskin, who turned out to be the founder of Arsenal Football Club.

"I didn't believe the story to start with, but I researched his burial records which I have, and found out that his address matched up with everything else.

"We then proceeded to look into getting in touch with the family, at the same time, Lionel Bird and myself were both trying to produce our first publications, and we decided to park it for a little while, and come back to it later.

"We came back to it about eight to 12 months ago, and the family got involved, and we've ended up with the beautiful day we've had today.

"It's just quite emotional to see so many people there, so many family members that have travelled from abroad to get to us, and I'm just proud to be chairman of the Friends of London Road Cemetery".

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Lionel Bird, Coventry City FC historian said: "It's a culmination of eight months work, from various people, Ian Woolley, who discovered the grave, Martin O'Donnell of the Scotland supporters club, who's been involved in a lot of the logistics side of it, and myself, who's done a lot of research on David Danskin, and his time in Coventry, along with contributions from Damien Kimberley of the Coventry archives and Herbert museum.

"It's been a magnificent success, there's no doubt about that.

"I thought that the ceremony was superb.

"The fact that people have travelled from Australia and Canada to attend this event is quite impressive."

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