My Dad
Ronald Frank Edwards
Born 15 October 1919
Ronald was the son of Albert William Edwards and Alice Maud Edwards – whom he always described as “a most devoted couple”. Alice passed away just before the war and Albert during the War, so neither of them had the chance to enjoy grandparent status. Most of Ronald’s relatives have gone before him many years ago and will no doubt be welcoming his spirit as it returns into their presence. He had one sister, Doris, who passed away some years ago – she was always seen as an eccentric, bright and breezy larger than life character whose visits were very entertaining and exhausting – involving crates of beer and an endless supply of cigarettes.
As a young man growing up he was always exploring and extending his many talents which included :-
Singing in a church choir
Drawing and painting (he was an accomplished artist)
Playing the violin (he played in an orchestra)
Excelling at chess (he was second board at the local chess club for many years)
Cycling
Studying Mathematics and English
He had just started at college in London studying Advanced Trigonometry when the war intervened and he was called up for National Service. At a post-retirement lunch he was once asked if there were any girls at his college – his reply was “Good Lord No! If there had been we would never have got any work done…!!”
He met Hazel Perks on a cycling holiday on the Isle of Wight in 1938. They married in 1939 and they had two children, Raymond (now 67) and Leslie (now 73 and living in Chicago). Their marriage endured for 73 years during which time they shared interests in music, crosswords, reading, rambling and travelling round Europe camping in many different countries over many years. Whilst touring Yugoslavia they had to wait for a few days as the road they should have been travelling on had collapsed and fallen down a mountain….they were only able to continue after the highways authority carved another one out of the mountainside rather rapidly!
During the Second World War he spent 5 years serving his country working as a Radio Specialist, being sent to Singapore, India and Burma. He once recalled how when working in the radio tent one day in Burma, the tent pole was struck by lightning just as one of his colleagues was plugging in a call with the result that the man was thrown bodily through the fabric of the tent by the force of the electric shock – although he did survive alright.
When he returned from the War he completed his studies to become a teacher, eventually becoming a deputy Head-teacher, then later a Headmaster at Percy Shurmer School in Birmingham from which he retired in 1983. One of his pupils once defined a straight line as “the shortest distance between two pints” which was seen as a classic and made Ronald chuckle.
His most absorbing hobby was photography and he excelled at that as he had at so many other things during his life. His work in colour printing his own photos was cutting edge and gained him the distinction of becoming a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. Leslie once said when visiting an exhibition of various photographic works that you could see Dad’s prints from the doorway as you walked in as they stood out so much in their quality from the others around the room. His work was always meticulous and always inspired and inspirational. His use of colour was vibrant.
He was a man with dignity, honesty and integrity. In all his years he was not known to have sworn in the presence of anyone and he always had exemplary manners. He was a true gentleman and a ‘gentle’ man. He had a quiet authority and his presence was felt by all – particularly though his sense of humour. He was firm but fair and he would give you his last penny if he thought you needed it.
In his retirement years he loved to visit the Royal British Legion Club in Solihull where he played snooker with a variety of other senior members over the years thoroughly enjoying the company and a glass of beer. He once commented that he kept running out of opponents as they kept pre-deceasing him “the things some people would do avoid getting beaten”. He was actually very modest about his snooker skills, saying he had good days and bad days, but that it was the enjoyment of playing the game that mattered.
He kept himself busy even into his 90’s and always had a list of jobs to do. He had kept in touch with computers until a couple of years ago when the changes to the software made him confused. It was often hard to book a time to see him as he was so busy. He used to say to Ray that sitting down too much was a problem as “The armchair is the enemy”.
He continued driving until he was 93 and lived in his own home until he was 95, with some help from a care package, only moving into The Langston Nursing Home in June this year when his frailty and dementia got too much for him to deal with on his own. Despite his health challenges his sense of humour never deserted him. On the first day he was in the nursing home he was taken to have a look at the communal lounge and asked if he wanted to go in and have a seat for a while – his response “I’m not going in there – it’s full of old people!” (he was 95 at the time).
On the day he passed away, Ray had been sitting with him earlier in the afternoon when one of the care assistants came in to see him. She was just going off duty and wanted to tell him she would be in to see him the next day. She told Ray that she often used to sit with Ronald as she liked his company and his sense of humour. She recounted how one day she had been with him when he announced he would like a bath – she offered to speak to some of the male care assistants to try and organise it for him – his straight-faced response was “Oh No! I only want the girls to bath me!”. It seems his sense of humour and mischief was incorrigible to the very end - how wonderful.
Ray Edwards
Son
25 November 2015