Ian put up this picture taken by one of his sons celebrating the 2-0 win over the enemy on the 18th November 2017.
Mills writes;
Ian Snelling, or as we knew him on various Arsenal blogs, gf60 has died. He died in the first week of June 2018, his last post on PA as far as I can make out was on the 1st June and he died some days later, three weeks short of his 76th birthday.
I personally found Ian to be a very decent, warm and kind but also straight pen friend via email, and I won’t forget his ranging memories of AFC that he shared and posted between seasons that made the summer interlude so much more interesting, rather than just the endless media stories around potential transfers.
My understanding of Arsenal took on another perspective as he described his experiences to me both off the blog and on it, filling in gaps here and there and adding to my idea of what the club is, its history and its atmosphere. He was one of the only person that I’ve ever met that stood on the North Bank when there was no cover in those post war years – as anyone who knows who stood at the Clock End and the old corner sections at Highbury, being in the rain wasn’t a lot of fun. Ian also had many anecdotes on older players now slowly being forgotten, players who are just as much part of the club as the Invincibles or anyone since the Emirates was built.
Copy of the programme for Ian’s first game, a title winning season.
Outside of AFC I didn’t share in any of his life,( and only came in at the final second anyway) a quick look around on the internet shows he had a life that touched many people, and had many interesting facets and interests, including launching important media companies and publishing a novel.
“It would be extremely difficult to exaggerate Ian Snelling’s contribution to the South African media industry.”
He sent me the whole of his written Arsenal archive that also shows he was a big part of other forums outside of the UK, they are a unique diary of sorts, and will spark back your own memories of games as you go along reading them.
I know that he liked you all, and enjoyed reading Stew and Labo’s match previews and Andrew’s post game analysis, and interacting with everyone on the blog in general.
Personally I liked his posts, they were always full of canny insights and of true joy when Arsenal won, but also of a stoic understanding that one must ‘keep the faith’ and ride the roller coaster that’s in the DNA of AFC. Ian was also personally liked also over at Untold Arsenal, where he was a major contributor, at least during the five years I was there, but in the last years PA was his Arsenal blog home.
Lets face it there’s no words I can muster up to cover my sadness or perhaps yours, but more than that, I feel also a gladness, a gladness to have known him, albeit for a short moment, and to have shared in the memories of another Arsenal fan’s life as a Gunner and Gooner a person whom I wouldn’t have known had it not been for UA and PA.
The club don’t know but they have lost a major supporter, a son who dearly loved the Arsenal as anyone ever has. And PA has lost one of its great posters.
Here’s to Ian, to gf60, may he be not forgotten as long as there is one of us to remember him and perhaps even after that.
Mills
Positively Arsenal 
Really sorry to read that.
His posts always talked a lot of sense
Ian’s life as a supporter,and indeed Daves previous post remind us what being a supporter is really about, and in Ian’s case, for so many decades, incredible.
I would imagine the club would be very interested in Ian’s life as such an exceptional supporter, but that’s clearly for Ian’s friends and family.
Positive vibes to his friends and family, only knew him through his posts on here and UA, but just glad he got to spend so many years following Arsenal, through good times and less good times, but always a privilege for those who chose to see it that way.
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Thank you Mills. that was touching, he will be sadly missed. I am happy that he felt at home on this blog, that alone shows we are on the right path and the place is at least a little worthwhile.
It was a privilege.
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I got to know Ian on here over 2016-2018. As well as his articles, I shall put up his Arsenal v the final match of the Busby Babes match report up tomorrow, he would often send me daft jokes that caught his eye on the internet. I know he and Mills and iDibs were in contact as well and he always spoke warmly of them as well as regulars on here.
Of the man himself he was born and brought up in Ossian Road, Stroud Green about a mile from Highbury. His family, the Snellings , owned the local garage and car dealership by the Stapleton for those who know their NorthLondon. I was born and lived around the corner but it was not until we got talking on here that we made the link. My Mum bought here first car there in 1963.
I knew Ian was not in good health with a serious respiratory problem and had been told by the doctor he had a “few months” to live, about two years before. Every month passed, every game watched, was a bonus. No wonder he enjoyed Positively Arsenal ! (Banned winkey thing)
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So sorry to hear of Ian’s passing, but glad to have had the opportunity to share our love for AFC through the blogs on PA.
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Thank you for this wonderful eulogy Mills and Andrew for filling in other blanks. It indeed has been an honour to have known him, even if only through this blog. That he found this to be his online home speaks volumes of what a great contribution everyone on here makes.
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My condolences on the passing of GF60. He was a great contributor to PA and his thoughtful comments on my blog posts was greatly appreciated. May he rest in peace
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What a lovely post Mills – and thanks too to Andy Nic for the other bits and bobs about him. A life richly lived and one enhanced I think by his membership of the very special club that is Arsenal – just as ours have been by his wise, kind and humourous observations.
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Finding five of your previous posts in the spam bin Fins puzzled me – until I saw the word ‘canon’ – don’t ask, don’t ask.
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What very sad news, I always had a sense of Ian’s experience of the history of the club and his pedigree as a long-time, long-term unerring supporter. I enjoyed and appreciated every single one of his posts, wherever I came across them and, as PG says, it’s great that he felt so at home here on PA with friends, old and new.
Social media is of course still a recent phenomena and losing friends that we can only have met and known through its auspices is surely enough to make us stop to reflect on the fleeting nature of our time here.
And the commendably long-term nature of PA – largely thanks to George and Andrew (plus others) – means the great characters we have already lost in recent seasons will most certainly not be forgotten, and we will continue to salute our old friends, remembering them always, whilst hopefully fully appreciating everyone of us still around.
Thank you Mills for the invaluable post today.
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Sad to see an old Gooner go. I may even have met him as I used to stand at the Clock End (throughout the sixties & early seventies) at the West Stand corner due to the terrace there rising higher than elsewhere, although I forget the names of the regulars who I got to know quite well.
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So very sorry to hear this. I enjoyed Ian’s posts, and I am glad he felt at home here. Condolences to his family.
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Terrible news, but a lovely tribute. Another brilliant contributer that has left our pages but not our hearts or memories.
Andy maybe you could run a series of his posts and reviews say every Tuesday or something as a tribute.
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Will do
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Sad to hear.
RIP
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R.I.P. Gf60.
Thank you for your contribution to PA.
Bless.
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Sad news. Touching tribute.
Would be great if that excellent photo can be included in preview of our next game so all can remember to raise a glass on the day in Ian’s honour.
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RIP GF60
one of my favorite posters, not only on PA but on any Arsenal site.
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Zelalem amongst seven youngsters to train with Arsenal first-team
by jeorge bird
A host of players may have been absent due to international commitments but Arsenal still held a first-team training session at London Colney today, with a host of youngsters making up the numbers.
Amongst them was Gedion Zelalem, with the midfielder finally closing in on a return to full fitness following a lengthy injury layoff.
Emile Smith Rowe had been named in the England U19 squad but instead remained at Arsenal, and he was joined in the training session by Julio Pleguezuelo, Robbie Burton, Charlie Gilmour and Nathan Tormey.
Intriguingly, Tolaji Bola also trained and the left-back, who has yet to make a senior appearance, must surely be in contention to be involved in the Carabao Cup at least given the club’s current lack of backup options in his position.
As far as first-team players are concerned, Petr Cech, Bernd Leno, Emiliano Martinez Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal, Matteo Guendouzi, Rob Holding, Mesut Ozil and Alex Lacazette all trained.
Sokratis Papastahopoulos, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Konstantinos Mavropanos (U21s), Mohamed Elneny, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Aaron Ramsey, Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck are all on international duty.
Meanwhile, Laurent Koscielny, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sead Kolasinac and Carl Jenkinson are all injured.
Regarding the U23 squad, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock, Xavier Amaechi, Tyreece John-Jules, Jordan McEneff and Trae Coyle all have international commitments. Jordi Osei-Tutu and Cohen Bramall remain injured.
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RIP gf60 another gem like ZimPaul has gone. He often liked my posts. That’s when I knew they were good.
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Sorry to hear this. As a writer for Untold Arsenal I very much liked his contributions and his optimism. RIP. my condolences to his family and friends around the world
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Thoughts are with Ian’s family & friends.
Rest in peace dear Ian.
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My deepest condolences and respect to someone I unfortunately never had the pleasure to meet, and whom I only encountered on this blog in recent years. But it’s clear from the wonderful eulogies in posts made today, that Ian led an interesting and worthy life and that he will be remembered very fondly. He has left his mark as a good man. May we all aspire to do the same when our time comes.
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Deeply touching to see so many warm tributes from everyone today,from Arsenal fans at PA and UA.
I would like to thank Anicoll5, as he added a few things to the piece and also put up the images of Ian, the links and hunted out the programme cover that Ian used as his avatar as gf60, which made everything look so much more fitting and right. Thanks Andrew.
As Ian himself would say: ” keep the faith”, COYG!
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R.I.P gf60. Your wisdom and charm will be missed on these pages. We celebrate your life as fellow gooners and people whose lives you touched through your thoughtful and encouraging posts on this blog. May the Lord grant you a peaceful rest.
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R.I.P. Gf60.
Always enjoyed reading his comments on all things Arsenal.
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New post up
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RIP Gf60
Peace to the family.
Thanks for this post and its contents.
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