Fred Bird, my elder brother, was in the British Army Special Air Service (SAS). He was a hero in every sense of the word, and he will always be proudly remembered by his friends and family.
Those who knew Fred, will know he lived life to the full. He was the eldest sone of Hubert and Louisa Bird, and born in Oldham in 1944. Oldham is a town that remained his spiritual home throughtout his life.
He had a never-ending verve for life, and although in later years he was afflicted by many illnesses, these never seemed to dampen his spirit. Thankfully he no-longer has to endure the pain and discomfort and he’s at peace.
Following a family move from Oldham to Harlow, Essex in 1960, Fred started his working life in the building trade and helped to construct many of the then Harlow ‘new’ Town buildings from private dwellings, business premises and even churches. One of the buildings he was particularly proud of was the distinctive design of church of St. Thomas More at the Hornbeams, Harlow.
It was in 1962 that Fred joined the Army and the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment.; know as 2-Para. At Aldershot he underwent P Company training and gain his wings and Maroon Beret in 1963. Our Mother made us his siblings remember his service number of 24064965.
In 1964, he was posted to Aden to deter the communist uprising, followed by many postings such as Singapore for jungle training and to establish bases on the border to act against the Indonesian confrontation with the newly established Federal Malaysia.
In 1966, he was posted to Bahrain for a 2-year tour, followed by 2-years in Hong Kong.
On return to the UK, Fred met Pamela, they married and had a daughter Teresa.
Fred went of tour to Northern Island in February 1972 when the Battalion was deployed to the Shankhill and Ballymurphy districts of Belfast , and he eventually spent 36-months in Northern Island across 6-tours between 1972 and 1976.
Fred was a true ‘doer’, he got things done. His trademark characteristics were his ability to mix a charming personality with impatience, persistence and being direct, whilst always adding large amounts of compassion, friendliness together with a disarming smile and chuckle.
One of his endearing characteristic was he always went of his his way to help anyone, and would literally stop what he was doing to provide help and support.
Fred was a larger than life personality; liked by all who met him, and he was particularly liked by Children and Dogs, which was one of the finest attributes that can be said of anyone.
Dogs know, they have a sixth sense of who they can trust.
Children feel – they feel in their heart who loves them, so it all these qualities that family and friends will always remember and miss most in him.
~ Amen ~
Fred is on the far right, carry his customary pickaxe handle rather than a gun!