‘He’s gone but he’s not forgotten...he lives on in me as well'

Paul-Anthony Bridgewater never met his dad but if you looked at a picture of the two of them you would know they were related.

Paul Davies was a very popular lad, a black belt in karate and mad about Bruce Lee films.

He was also very protective over his family, especially his sister and was very close to his mother.

“He was just a happy-go-lucky guy with the world at his feet."

Aged 17, Paul Davies was with Paul-Anthony’s mum for about a year and she has always praised his character, saying he was the love of her life.

He wasn’t a drinker but was just walking past the Tavern in the Town with his friend Neil Marsh, 17, when the bomb inside went off.

Paul-Anthony was born three months after his dad was killed in the Birmingham pub bombings so he never got the chance to know him.

When he was growing up, he didn’t tell many people about what had happened and he said the memories were often just hidden away.

Paul knew he had an auntie but he had no idea he had a half-sister as well, until she got in contact with him and discovered he was living in Leeds.

“When I first found her, I didn’t believe it I was like what’s going on? Are you sure? And then I rung my mother and it all came out, it was just like wow I’ve got a half-sister on my dad’s side and I found out a few more things about my dad.”

Through his half-sister Michelle, Paul was able to meet up with his auntie again who was able to tell him much more about his dad.

He says it’s nice to know he looks so similar to his dad because it’s a lasting memory, especially for the people that knew him so well.

“I didn’t get to meet him or know him so it’s nice that I’ve got that.”

But the topic of his dad's death is still quite a sensitive thing for his mum so he tends to talk about it with his auntie and half-sister.

Through those conversations he has been able to build up a picture of what he was really like and has even noticed similar character traits which he shares.

Paul has spent his life surrounded by his female family members but he says he would have liked to grow up with a strong male father figure.

“It would have been nice to go to football with him and do father son things, you know, that would have been nice, I feel that I missed out on that, it would have been nice to have it.”

He has found some comfort being part of the Justice for the 21 campaign group, which he describes as like being part of a “close knit family".

Paul says they all want to know what happened on November 21 and the days leading up to it because so many people’s lives were ruined that night.

He says his father had his whole life ahead of him and his family, as well as the others who lost loved ones that night, deserve to know the truth.

“He’s gone but he’s not forgotten, I’ve got the odd picture but he lives on in me as well.”