Woodsworth has had some memorable members over the years. These two members were long-time editors of the Weekly newsletter.
John Boyd
Long-time member John Boyd, now living in a seniors’ facility, won the 2007 Distinguished Co-operator Award from the Ontario Co-operative Association.
A memoir of his life as a socialist.
Obituary for John
David Ibbetson, Our Wine Benefactor
At the enjoyable wine tasting funded by David through his will, a newer member asked who David was. While I knew David as a stalwart behind the Weekly, a convivial member and an eccentric individual, I didn’t know much about his background. Here’s what I found out on the Web.
David Noel Isserlis Ibbetson, who born in Wallington, England on September 24, 1933 and died on March 23, 2005. He received his education at the City of London School and the Imperial College, University of London, where he graduated at the top of his class. He was also an Associate of the Royal College of Science. During his college days he joined the Special Air Service Regiment and the Artists Rifle Association and he continued his participation after he moved to Canada in February 1969.
David was a statistician and worked in that profession until his retirement. He was also an active member of Mensa. He was an avid reader and was actively interested in a broad range of topics and disciplines.
He was an early adopter of the Internet and many people around the world knew him because of his participation in a number of e-mail discussion lists, “lists populated by word lovers and editors and technical writers and fans of Dorothy L. Sayers. The Internet was very good for him. It would let him use his sharp mind and great knowledge to interact with others. Through his contributions to various e-mail discussion lists, he developed friendships that expanded beyond the business of the lists.”
One writer sums him up like this: “David was a man of grace and wit. He had a base of knowledge that was broad and deep. He was very generous, warm, and caring.”
I also found this anecdote about David from when he was in the British SAS Reserves, contributed by Major Roy Fielder TD, Vice President, Artists Rifles Association.
David was in 21 SAS Regiment (Artists) TA from 1952 to 1970. David returned to the UK to attend regimental reunions on two occasions in recent years.
On one occasion, “Ibbo”, as we called him, was one of a group being taught how to use the Sun Compass. When at one stage David blurted out “that’s not quite right sir“, the exasperated WW2 SAS Navigator invited David to complete the lecture. David did that, very competently, to roars of delight from his colleagues.
On another occasion, there was an unfortunate accident on the gun range. David was taking part in a Sten Gun shoot and he had inadvertently moved the switch from single shot to automatic. Bullets were sprayed everywhere. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
David excelled in his statistical work and always managed the “stats” tent at our Annual Rifle Meeting. David never let us down and everyone trusted his findings.
He was in a Signals Squadron and was peerless in deciphering messages. He remained a valued member of both the SAS Regimental Association and the Artists Rifles Association for many years.
David coped with his health difficulties with great dignity and courage and will be greatly missed by his former SAS comrades.
David had a muscle wasting disease that greatly limited his mobility and caused him great pain. He also had diabetes and several other health problems.
And last, I found this in a discussion about technical writing on the Pros or Cons of Section Numbering (1996), written by David where he described himself as David (the numerate idiot) Ibbetson!
I don’t mind humour provided it doesn’t get in the way. I read text books and manuals for information. Properly used humour can make the information more digestible. e.g. memorable examples. A recent thread concluded that the Brits prefer less humour than the North Americans. In this respect I’m British.
RIP, David.
