I completely missed this thread, I remember him very well as a member of Mercer's Minors. I saw him play for England U23's along with Alan Deakin in a match at St. Andrews.
I think he played for the Blues the season we got relegated to the third division in a match where Bruce Rioch scored a screamer and we won for, I think the only away victory of that season. I could be wrong about that though.
The last time I saw him was after a match at the Wolves, League Cup I think, we'd won and I saw him and what I took to be his son as we were leaving. He certainly gave his all for the Villa every time he played, so very sad that he died so young.
Thanks for posting, an enjoyable read that evoked so many memories for me.
*Edit: I forgot to add that unfortunately he played most of his career with us when we really were awful.