Obituary: Adrian Johnson

A rock to his family through good times and bad, Adrian Johnson's main ambition in life was to see his family comfortable and stable and watch his children grow up.

In the five years before his death in the Piccadilly Line Tube blast on 7 July 2005, the 37-year-old had been supporting his wife through cancer.

"He was absolutely amazing during this terrible time, and my love and respect for him grew to new heights," Catherine Johnson said in a statement read out at the inquest into his death.

Adrian Johnson grew up in Skegby, Notts, where he attended St Andrew's primary school.

He then went to Quarry Dale comprehensive, where he met his future wife at the age of 15.

"I knew from the very beginning that Adrian would be the father of my children and we were together from them on until his death," she said.

The couple married in 1991, and had two children, Christopher and Rebekah. They lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire.

"Adrian was always a gentle and kind soul and little did we know our lives would be somewhat tested during the next few years," Mrs Johnson said.

"I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in late 2000, which unfortunately spread to my lymph glands.

"Not only was this a physical challenge for Adrian, as he took on my role whilst I was in and out of hospital, but it was an emotional rollercoaster for him, looking after a very young family and trying to come to terms with the potential threat of being a single parent.

"It was so ironic that I would lose Adrian. We were saving a bottle of champagne to celebrate my five-year milestone in 2006, but I could not bring myself to drink it alone."

A sports enthusiast, he enjoyed golf, played hockey at county level and was a lifelong supporter of Mansfield Town Football Club.

Mr Johnson's job as product technical manager for Burberry took him all over Europe and he generally spent three weeks out of four in Italy and the remaining week in London at the company's base in Haymarket.

But in the week of the bombings, he broke with routine and left his London hotel to see his family in Nottinghamshire.

He was just returning to work in London on 7 July 2005 when he was caught up in the rush-hour attacks, as the Tube train approached Russell Square.

Shortly after his death, Elaine Whittle, who worked with Adrian at Burberry, said: "He was a wonderful, kind, and professional man who had a wonderful sense of humour. He will leave a huge void in his family's life and my heart goes out to them."

Nearly £40,000 was raised for the Adrian Johnson memorial trust to help 56 children severely affected by the London bombings and the attacks on the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh just over two weeks later.

At the inquest, Catherine Johnson concluded: "We are all proud to have known him and there is now a huge void that cannot ever be filled."