Obituary
by Peter Burd

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Bob was born in Hornsey, North London on St. Swithin’s day, the only child of Sydney, a master baker, and Ada. As an only child and with his father largely working nights he spent a lonely childhood until he attended Sunday School at the local Moravian Church. This was the start of a lifelong association with the Moravian Church. Sunday school opened his eyes to the outside world and, for the first time, he felt part of a big family with welcome invitations to share time with his fellow Moravians coming his way.

In the mid 1920’s another lifelong association started which lasted a lifetime. This was with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. The first match he saw was against Everton, which he always said Spurs lost 4-2 with Dixie Dean scoring two goals. The last game he saw was against Birmingham City on 2 December 2007 which Spurs lost 3-2. Fortunately there were a great number of wins and trophies to enjoy in the intervening eighty odd years.

Secondary education at Tollington Grammar School increased his love of sport, especially cricket, where he took his first steps as, by his own admission, a less than accomplished cricketer. He was a slightly better footballer and did make the school teams at various age group levels. On achieving matriculation he left school in the mid 1930’s and became a  book-keeper at Church House in Fetter Lane. During that time he played football for Alexandra Park once going full length to turn two shots around the post. He was playing left back, the goalkeeper saved both penalties and AP won the game 2-1. During his time at Church House he showed round a young Moravian lady who had been sent from rural Warwickshire to work in London and heard about Church House.

At the outbreak of war he joined the army, subsequently being commissioned into the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. Early in the war he was sent to command a searchlight site in rural Warwickshire. Discovering there was a Moravian Church in nearby Woodford Halse he attended Sunday morning service. He sat in front of the young lady, who had been recalled from London by her worried parents, whom he had shown around Church House years earlier. Her name was Eva Pratt. They married on Christmas Eve 1942, the only leave they could get from the army. He caught mumps on Boxing Day which saved him from a posting to Burma, from where most of his regiment did not return.

He found, as a London lad, adjusting to country life had its problems. One Christmas his father in law instructed his son Jack to take Bob down the garden to get a couple of chickens to cook for Christmas dinner. Just grab hold of them and wring their necks jack told Bob and showed him how it was done. Bob closed his eyes and did exactly what he was told and marched triumphantly back into the kitchen laying the bird on the table to be prepared for the feast to come, whereupon it jumped up, off the table and back down the garden.

After the war Bob attended the Moravian Theological College at Fairfield, Manchester whilst Eva became Matron at the Moravian Fulneck Boys School. He was ordained into the Moravian Church in 1947 and immediately posted to his first congregation in Carmel, Jamaica. His son Peter was born in Jamaica in February 1948. Unfortunately he became seriously ill and had to return to the UK two years later.

In 1949 the family moved to Lower Wyke (near Bradford) and was completed with the birth of his daughter Susan in October of that year. The church had a cricket team, Lower Wyke Moravians, playing in the Bradford and District Mutual Sunday School League. He graced the side with his presence, as a wicket keeper/batsman, (although it is rumoured he spent more time behind the stumps than in front of them), during his time in Lower Wyke, from 1949 until 1954.

In 1954 the family moved to Swindon, Wiltshire where his cricketing career came to a stop and he contented himself more with a watching brief (Swindon Town not Spurs), and local and county cricket. In 1960 Bob was transferred back to Yorkshire, this time to Baildon near Bradford. It was during this time he started umpiring in the Bradford League.

Bob was an immediate success and, during his time in the league umpired both the Priestley Cup and Shield finals. In addition to league cricket he joined the Minor Counties Umpires’ Panel. 1970 was to have been the high point of his cricketing career when he was appointed to stand in the first class match between the Minor Counties and the touring side.  Unfortunately, 1970 was the year South Africa was due to tour, and the tour rightly cancelled due to the then Apartheid policy.

In 1970 he was appointed to the Provincial Board of the Moravian Church. The office had by now moved from Fetter Lane to Hornsey and the family lived in Priory Road, exactly opposite the church where he first attended Sunday school over 45 years earlier. Half way around the world and he finished up just 10 minutes walk from where he was born! He stayed on the Provincial Board until his retirement in 1983. He enjoyed his role, travelling to many parts of the world to meet his fellow Moravians and see the work being carried out in deprived areas of the world.

His umpiring career in the south began by enrolling on the Smith Bureau of Umpires, which in turn led to him joining Richmond Cricket Club where he stood until the formation of the Middlesex County League Panel.  A founder member of the panel, Bob became its second Chairman and continued on the panel until well into his seventies. Even then he started a long association to umpire the Law Society Cricket Club and stood until well past his eightieth birthday. He particularly enjoyed the venues they played at and the tours to Portugal and beyond. He spent many years as honorary umpire for the Enfield Grammar School team. He was very honoured to be awarded vice presidencies or life memberships by Richmond Cricket Club, The Law Society Cricket Club and especially to be one of the first Vice Presidents of the Middlesex County Cricket League.

After he retired Bob moved first to Oakwood and, after his dear wife became too ill to manage stairs, to Edmonton where he remained until his death. His four grandsons were all born in the 1980’s Luke in 1980, Thomas in 1982, Jack in 1984 and Andrew in 1989. The first thing he put in their hands was a cricket ball and he made sure that the tradition of supporting Spurs would continue by buying them tickets to White Hart Lane. Eva died in December 1989 after almost 47 years of happy marriage. In later years he had, and successfully fought, a succession of illnesses. Unfortunately he could not do it for ever.

His wife once said to him, “You’ve got three loves, your family, the church and cricket (for that I would substitute sport) and I don’t know what order to put them in.” It may be better to say he had three families.

There was no order. From humble beginnings as an only child he married one of eight children and became Uncle Bob to many nieces and nephews. He was well loved and respected, not only by his children and grandchildren, but by the members of wider family.

He was a loyal and respected member of his Moravian family for 85 years. He gained comfort and love from them in his early years and spent most of his life trying to return that and pass it on to less fortunate people he came across in the course of his work, wherever in the World that took him.

The last family were his sporting family. He treated his commitment to sport as seriously as to anything else and was never known to be late for a game. He met and formed a great many friendships over the years for his love and enthusiasm for sport that he retained until his death. His sense of humour obviously helped for instance coming back from a Hornsey match to report “Chris Waite had a good game – he only bowled eighteen no balls”.

He felt his life had been enriched by the people he met from all his families and we are sure that he enriched the lives of many people he met. He lived his life to the full and, until the last few years slowed him down, was always on the go.

He will be missed by all his families, may he Rest in Peace.

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