Bernard Green 1944-2011

Bernard Green died on 19 November 2011.

Bernard started his library service career in September 1960 working as a library assistant for Shoreditch Borough Council in East London. He passed his ‘Entrance’ examination at the nearby North West Polytechnic, and took the two-year professional course at the College of Librarianship Wales, Aberystwyth, from 1966 to 1968. On his return to what was by then the London Borough of Hackney he was put in charge of the Kate Greenaway Children’s Library, subsequently becoming Deputy Branch Librarian.

In 1970 Bernard became Librarian at Bridport in rural west Dorset. It was here that he met his wife Ann, and Bernard spent the rest of his career in the Dorset library service.

Bernard was promoted steadily within Dorset. In 1975 he was appointed Lending Librarian at the Lansdowne Library, at that time the main library in Bournemouth, which was then part of the Dorset service. A major growth area at the time was developing library services to housebound people.

By 1983 Bernard made a further move to a management post based at Christchurch, as Group Librarian managing a range of very different libraries from the Hampshire border to the Bournemouth suburbs.

At Christchurch Bernard found himself in an historic town with a worldwide diaspora whose library was often contacted by people wanting to research local and family history. Bernard regarded as one of his greatest achievements the founding of the successful Christchurch Local History Society that has been running now for more than twenty years, still based at the town’s library. Determined to put the library firmly at the heart of the community, Bernard established an impressive and varied programme of winter-time weekly events and talks, which established such a reputation that he had a waiting list of potential speakers. These regularly attracted audiences of a hundred or so.

At the local government reorganisation of 1997, Bernard remained with the new Dorset library service and took on the post of Operations Manager East. It was my great privilege to work closely with Bernard from this point in his career until his retirement in 2002. Bernard masterminded a number of smoothly executed library refurbishments, at which his strategic planning skills came to the fore.

One project that he started was the long-awaited extension of Christchurch Library. This was an uphill project with a very protracted genesis in which he kept a keen interest after retirement, and at the time of his death he knew that the County Council was, in the face of network cutbacks, at last able to start on bringing this major project to fruition.

I got to appreciate first-hand the many qualities that Bernard had, well-known to all his many colleagues; his loyalty and support, his willingness to shoulder responsibility and go beyond what the job demanded, his breadth of interest in all aspects of the service, his supreme enthusiasm, his ability to sum up an arduous discussion at management meetings, and above all his likeability. There was no side to Bernard – he treated everyone the same, and was respected for it. Recently Bernard told me that he regarded the last years of his career with the team we had in East Dorset as the happiest days of his 42 year career. But Bernard always saw the positive in whatever he was doing, whatever that entailed. Even throughout the rapidly progressing motor neurone disease that took him from us at the age of 67 he was writing to CILIP about library cuts, and contributing to a BBC debate about Lord Falconer’s commission on assisted dying, feeling that the pro-suicide aspect was getting more of an airing than the positive aspects of life that he saw around him.

42 years in local government is not likely to be equalled nowadays. At his retirement party in 2002 Bernard was proud of having made a 42 minute speech without once, as he proudly recalled, referring to any notes.

Bernard is survived by his wife Ann and their son David and daughter Jenny.

We meet at 7:30pm at Christchurch Junior School, Clarendon Road, Christchurch, Dorset. BH23 2AA

]]> http://www.historychristchurch.org/news/its-a-grave-business/874/feed http://www.historychristchurch.org/news/christchurch-guided-walks-2011/867 http://www.historychristchurch.org/news/christchurch-guided-walks-2011/867#comments Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:29:57 +0000 mike.andrews http://www.historychristchurch.org/?p=867 A series of guided walks have been arranged for August, September and October.

The August ones are -

MILLS, MONKS AND MAUSOLEUMS on the 23rd at 2.30 p.m. meet under the arches of the TOWN HALL

QUAY CHARACTERS AND FISHY FOLKS on the 26th at 4 p.m. meet by the wishing well on Mudeford Quay

TOFFS, TALL SHIPS AND CONTRABAND on the 30th at 6 p.m. meet at All Saints Church in Mudeford.

These walks and others including
HALLS, WALLS AND LEPERS,
BEARS, WOLVES AND BARGES,
GHOSTS, GHOULS AND THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE TOWN,
A WARTIME WOODLAND WANDER, BOMBS (Shoes and clothes for rough terrain and undergrowth),
BOMBS BARROWS AND BUNKERS will be repeated in September and October.

Please collect a copy of the brochure available from the Christchurch Information Centre for full details.

All walks are approximately 1 - 1.5 hours long and cost £4.00 per person (under 16’s free). Tickets are available from the Christchurch Information Centre, High Street (01202 471780), or just turn up on the day, but please be aware that numbers are limited.

Christchurch Guided Walks accept no liability and all walks are undertaken at your own risk .

The funeral service and burial will take place at St Mark’s Church, Highcliffe, on Monday 22nd August 2011 at 2pm. Donations to Macmillan Caring Locally can be sent c/o Ridout’s Funeral services, 414 Lymington Road, Highcliffe BH23 5HE or flowers sent to the same address.

Olive  was one of the founder members of the Society and will be missed by many.

An exhibition at Highcliffe Castle 23^rd July – 11^th Sept. showing life in an English Country house in the first half of the 20^th century above and below stairs.Two rooms set out in period style, along with informative well illustrated interpretation boards make this an exhibition not to be missed. Local historian Ian Stevenson has contributed much.

The Society will be exhibiting at the 2011 Mudeford Arts Festival to be held 30th & 31st July 11:00am - 8:00pm on Mudeford Quay Green.

It looks like it’s going to be a great event, cards, crafts, other activities, art exhibition, an opportunity to profile the Society, meet other societies, and members of the public. Why not swan down and see us?

CONVENT WALK COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE

The commemorative plaque was unveiled by Michael Hodges at 10.15am on Wednesday 22 June 2011 exactly the same time on the same day as the Mayor opened Convent walk 100 years before. The Priory bell ringers also rang a peal as their predecessors did on the opening day.Why not click on - Convent Walk Centenary - an invitation and compare the pictures!

Christchurch Community Partnership are holding a new event in the garden of the Red House Museum on Saturday 2nd July. It is “designed to bring together local community organisations in an atmosphere redolent of an old English folk festival”. Our Society has accepted an invitation to be present enabling us once again to make folk aware of who we are and what we do.

The ceremony will be accompanied by a peal of the Priory bells rung by the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers.

The scenic footpath beside the millstream was officially opened by Mayor Robert Druitt and the Mayoress as part of the town’s celebrations for the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary on 22 June 1911. A sapling Coronation Oak planted by the Mayoress during the ceremony at the Gin Hatch now stands full grown beside the path.