I trust that all club members will enjoy reading and reflecting on the life of our friend Gerald "Dickie" Bird.
Jason Armistead - Club Membership Secretary and Webmaster
Gerald Dickie Bird was many men.
He was a first and foremost a family man.
Born into a RAF family, his father was an original RAF member and rose to the rank of Wing Commander before retirement, dad took his responsibility as eldest child very seriously. As a 12 year old in the summer of 1940, with his father on active service, he refused to be evacuated with the children and stayed in Kent to look after his mother. Throughout the war and well after he gave his sweet ration & pocket money to his sister & younger brothers.
After the devastation of not being required for RAF service, his father arranged an apprenticeship with GEC Birmingham and as a dutiful son he went, albeit with much reservation. Fortunately so for our family as there he met his soul mate and future wife Nora.
They married in 1950 and moved to Trinidad. Dickie remained a family man, only now the focus was on his own family which grew during Trinidad days to include my sister and I.
With the West Indies Federation breaking up Dickie thought about what would be best for his family and putting it's welfare above career prospects returned to England.
Turning down some lucrative job offers in South Africa & Malaysia, again it was family welfare above career that determined our move to Australia. Neither decision was ever regretted for a second.
With a growing family dad's first sporting love stayed on hold so that Margaret & I could enjoy ours. After his brother Malcolm died, few things gave dad greater pleasure than holidays in Queensland and seeing his surrogate grandchildren.
Secondly Dickie was a loyal Company Man.
As strange as it may seem to people of my generation he only ever has three employers in his entire life. They were:
It says a lot about Dad's character that none of these jobs were doing what he really wanted to do. (Really all he wanted to do was follow his father into the RAF.)
He was a sports man.
His first sporting love was Gliding. After not being accepted for the RAF but determined to fly any way he started Gliding in 1946. His log book shows his last flight was on October 13th 2001. More about Gliding from Ken McCracken later.
Dad was an Olympic Sailor. He took up sailing because Trinidad had no Gliding. He called sailing "Gliding in two dimensions". He and his skipper represented the West Indies (in their one and only Games) sailing Flying Dutchmen at the 1960 games.
He represented his country at Rugby for 10 years. Admittedly Trinidad and Tobago is not a Rugby world power but I would have given my right arm to do likewise.
He played some cricket in Trinidad and for St. Ives from season 1966/7 to 1978/9. He was president for 11 years, taking over a moribund club with one team in C2 grade and on the point of collapse. He forged links with the juniors and Saints rugby Club, he took coaching and umpiring courses and passed that knowledge on to others.
He spent 10 years on the Association Committee (5 years as secretary). When, after many evening spent oiling bats, cleaning pads, hundreds of Club and Association Committee meeting and thousands of phone calls & 10 years as 1st grade Captain later, and he finally retired; the club had four teams, had won three or four premierships in the prior two seasons and was on the cusp of a golden age. After all this he was genuinely surprised and greatly honoured to be made the clubs first life member.
He has been remembered by the club here today and I gather a mark of respect will be paid to him before play tomorrow.
A box full of trophies attest to his prowess at tennis (many of these were for doubles, partnered of course by mum.) Well into his 60s he was still a demon at the net.
He was totally frustrated by Golf, the only sport he never played as well as he thought he could. But he loved Bayview GC, the course and the many friends he made amongst its members.
In his day he also played soccer, hockey, squash, and spear fished all with some degree of proficiency.
As it may become an Olympic Event you could throw in Bridge on to the list for good measure.
Last but by no means least Dickie Bird was a Gentleman in the truest sense of the word.
As a father he not only had our love but our respect. He rarely raised his voice and never his hand. The golf course apart he never used bad language. He never spoke ill of any one or thought the worst of any ones intentions, as a consequence he bought the best out others.
As a teacher, coach and instructor he was calm and reassuring, he had the knack of finding how to reach each pupil on their level. If a student ever failed he felt it was his fault, and wondered what else he (as a teacher) could have done.
Gerald Dickie Bird has died. He was greatly loved, will be greatly missed and this world is a poorer place for his passing.
To our Dear friend Dickie
From Sally and Rex Sartain.
Today is the day,
That we say goodbye,
It's not really our job
To give reasons why,
That task is left to
One greater than we,
When our spirit's fly,
They need to be free.
It's your turn to move,
To a most special place,
You can glide if you want,
You can use your own pace,
You can go very high
We stay on the ground,
It's now up to us,
It's peace that you've found.