Efrem Brynin says he and his family are delighted that Albion's Fan of the Season award continues to honour his son James.
James was killed in action on his second tour of Afghanistan in 2013, having also been there in 2012. Part of role involved going on operations where he would listen to enemy interceptions and triangulate where they were.
Efrem, who is co-founder of the charity Strongmen UK, was speaking on the latest My Albion Audio podcast.
“It's great that every year he gets remembered through the fan award being in his name. For us it's genuinely important and I am sure whoever wins it are pleased.
“For us it means that his name is still alive. The winners will have shown some of the great attributes that he had as well as person. He wasn't always the best at everything, but he always gave his best.”
James was a huge Albion supporter, and the family were invited to the Amex after he died to see the team play Blackburn Rovers.
“James was 22 when he died. He had been following Albion in the Gillingham and Withdean days, sadly he never got to see a game at the new stadium.
“We got a letter from [chief executive] Paul Barber in the days after James had died. We were kindly invited by the club to the Blackburn game. We were treated like royalty, invited into the boardroom and given a tour.
“We went into the dressing room and I couldn't tell you exactly what I said, but I turned into a manager and decided to give them my opinion on what they should do and to make sure they won the game for James, to remember him and his colleagues. You could have heard a pin drop.
“Sometimes, players wear armbands to remember somebody who has passed and they might not get a real feeling for the person. I think it had the desired effect as Albion won pretty comfortably on the day.”
James played football to a good standard before joining the Army, and his dad is proud of the man his son became.
“I was 18 when James was born, my wife Sharon was 17, so we had him since we were kids basically. We then had our daughter Yasmin a few years later. Children make your life so full. When James died, we got letters from all around the world.
“He was one of those people that would treat the most important person and the least important person the same.
“He represented Sussex and had trials for national schools and colleges, he loved football. I spent most of the late 1990s driving him from pillar to post and I remember him playing against Chris Smalling for Horsham against Maidstone. I genuinely enjoyed watching him play. He was a combative all or nothing player, a heart on the sleeve guy.
“Not a day goes by where I don't miss him because he wasn't just my son, he was a really good friend. My wife and I had great pleasure in watching him grow. He had a girlfriend and plans, he was going about things the right way.”
To listen to the podcast in full, please click here.
If you would like more information on Efrem’s charity Strongmen UK, check out their website here.