Fearless charity campaigner who fought to the end

18 Jan 2025

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)

BY MARC THOMSON

TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY 

STRUGGLING IN LIFE IS REALLY WONDERFUL. 

YOU ARE GIVING SOMETHING BACK

   - Denis Law

Denis Law’s former team-mates and rivals were all in agreement on one thing: You would rather play with him than against him.

As affable and engaging as he was away from the pitch, on it he was a fearless and ferocious competitor.

It is this steely will to win of a man hewn in granite that helped Law tackle serious health scares for both himself and his family and come to terms with personal tragedies of losing so many much-loved friends from his playing days.

Every time a potentially fatal condition has touched the Law family, it simply gave him the resolve to campaign to heighten awareness and raise funds to find cures.

In the early 1990s, Law’s son Andrew was 24 when he was struck by meningitis. Andrew, who had served in the Merchant Navy, was working at a hotel in Cornwall when his family got a phone call to say he was in Truro in hospital.

Law and his family travelled six or seven hours through the night to find Andrew in a coma.

The Law family were fortunate that a doctor from Scotland who specialised in meningitis was working at the hospital. Law said: “We were lucky for there to be an expert in the disease in Truro.

“Andrew had the spinal injection and recovered. He was a strong lad and that helped his recovery.”

It inspired Law to become a patron for Meningitis Now and he has used his profile to spearhead countless campaigns for the charity over the years.

Then in 2003, Law was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

He came through that scare after a successful surgery and, again, used his profile to urge men to get regular checks.

The man famous for his finger-pointing pose was the perfect poster boy for that campaign.

Two-and-a-half years later his wife Diana faced her own harrowing battle with stomach cancer. Ever since, Law was a strong supporter of Cancer Research UK.

The last few years were particularly challenging for Law as the years caught up with him.

In 2019, he lost his older brother, Joe, aged 87, leaving just Denis and Frances as the only two remaining of the seven siblings. Law said at the time: “My brother was a big influence on me. So it is obviously sad news that he isn’t here anymore, but he didn’t suffer and he enjoyed good health until the last couple of weeks.

“He liked his football, he was a good family man, he had an excellent life, a full life and he was devoted to his family.”

The Covid-19 pandemic was also difficult for Law and wife Diana as they had limited contact with their five children and were unable to hug their brood of grandchildren.

Then there were the deaths of former Old Trafford team-mates.

In an interview in late 2020, Law opened up about how the deaths of John Fitzpatrick and Nobby Stiles left him in tears.

He said: “I was crying every day. John died a couple of days ago... I miss them. We know we have to go sometime but to lose them is very sad. I keep crying.”

Then in October 2023, his friend and fellow Old Trafford great Sir Bobby Charlton passed away after living with dementia.

Sir Bobby’s death came just over two years after Law revealed that he, too, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. In typical Law style, within a month he had raised £40,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society and had joined the charity’s Sport United Against Dementia campaign as an official champion to help improve how sporting bodies and clubs care for those affected.

He said: “It’s been a challenging time since my dementia diagnosis. I’ve been touched by everyone’s well wishes and donations.

“I hope that as a Sport United Against Dementia champion, I can continue to raise awareness so more people aren’t afraid to come forward, can spot the signs and get the help they need through Alzheimer’s Society’s fantastic support services.

“I know how important it is that we stay connected to the sports we love.

“I still get so much joy out of going to Old Trafford.

“Through this campaign we can bring the sporting world together to break down barriers, keeping this passion for sport alive for thousands of others who are living with dementia.”

Law has finally lost his battle but his passion to make the world a better place for sufferers of meningitis, cancer and dementia will be felt for many years to come.

***

‘Holy Trinity’ more than team-mates

The death of close friends and former Manchester United team-mates George Best and Bobby Charlton were painful to bear for Denis.

Northern Irish legend Best died, aged 59, in Cromwell Hospital in South Kensington, London, on November 25 2005 due to complications from the immunosuppressive drugs he needed to take after a liver transplant in 2002.

Best had battled with alcoholism for most of his adult life.

Law was with Best in his final hours after making a dash south to the hospital when he heard his friend had just hours to live.

At Best’s funeral Law was among the mourners who helped carry the coffin, pictured, to the base of the Stormont Buildings in Belfast for the ceremony.

Bobby died on October 21 2023 aged 86 and reports said Denis was devastated.

Law joined Charlton in a team struggling for an identity in the aftermath of the Munich air crash that claimed the lives of several players in 1958 But United’s ‘holy trinity’ played some of the finest football ever seen in and establishing a commitment to an attacking style that remains part of the club’s DNA.