Terminally ill dad starts selling Big Issue to help sons when he’s gone

In 2021, shortly after Dave Besley found random bruising on his body, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia and was told by doctors that he had six months to live.

Dave, who is a survivor of the 1973 Basel air disaster, recently decided to move back to Bristol from Devon to be closer to his two sons who both have learning and behavioural difficulties.

The terminally ill dad and his sons have taken up selling the Big Issue on the streets of the city, as a way of providing both an income and to allow his sons to connect and socialise with the community. Which is a legacy he can leave his children for when he has passed.

The 67-year-old sells the street newspaper outside Caffè Nero in Clifton and his sons have taken up pitches in Shirehampton and Redland.

Dave, who is a survivor of the 1973 Basel air disaster, recently decided to move back to Bristol from Devon to be closer to his two sons – photo: Exposure Photo Agency

Dave explained: “I decided on the Big Issue so we can actually get out there and meet people, talk to people and get some money for the rest of their life when I’m gone. I decided I wanted to do something instead of sitting on the settee shrivelling up and waiting to die. It was an outlet for me to carry on with something and to have something to fight for.

“This magazine doesn’t only help homeless people and people with no money. It’s for people like me who’ve got disabilities so they can be a part of the community, not just living quietly in a corner.”

Dave branded his experience as a Big Issue vendor so far as “very good” and branded the public as “very supportive. He added: “They’re very outgoing, they want to know how you are, how you’re coping and what’s going on.

“I try to explain what the Big Issue is and that it’s a hand up – everybody has their own reasons for selling. For some people it’s just for money. For some it’s something to do. For some it’s just to hang on in life.

“I’ve been looking after my two boys most of my life and I’ve got them selling their magazines out there. They’re learning to cope with other people, they’re not very good at mixing in and connecting to people.

“The magazine has given them an outlet. They can’t work so all their life they would be stuck in the house or doing nothing. It’s an outlet for when I’m gone so they’ve got something to hang on to and something they can do without being tied down too much.”

Dave was one of 37 survivors in the 1973 Basel air disaster. He was 17-years-old at the time when he boarded the plane at Bristol Airport on April 10

The plane, with 145 people onboard, crashed in the snow in Basel in Switzerland, killing Dave’s uncle and 107 others.

Dave managed to save seven people from the wreckage and was awarded for his bravery.

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the disaster, which Dave hopes he will still be around for. He said: “That’s what I’m fighting for. There are only a couple of survivors left and I want to be there to pay my respects to the survivors in Switzerland and the people in England.

“I always felt that I should have been with the rest of them on the plane when they passed so I have a heavy connection with Bristol.

“You don’t realise what it’s like until you’re in one of these air disasters. You still see it every year. You can hear the crying, you can hear the plane roar, you see every little bit.”

Dave was one of 37 survivors in the 1973 Basel air disaster – photo: Exposure Photo Agency

Chris Falchi-Stead, frontline director at the Big Issue, said: “Dave’s story is truly inspirational, and our frontline team will remain with him and his sons every step of the way in order to support him in every way we can.

“It’s incredibly tough out there for our vendors at the moment. The rising costs of food and energy and quieter high streets along with the colder climes are meaning a usually busy time for magazine vendors look increasingly bleak.

“Which is why we are urging people to give our vendors a fighting chance this Christmas and buy a magazine or a subscription from them. Every copy bought is £2 earned. Give our vendors a fighting chance this Christmas. Every copy counts.”

If you would like to support Big Issue vendors this Christmas, you can buy a copy from your local vendor or you can subscribe online.

Photos: Exposure Photo Agency

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