At BGS I gained 9 “O” levels and “A” levels in French and Latin but I now regret not applying for University.
Feb 1960-69. Joined the Civil Service as an EXECUTIVE OFFICER working on purchase tax and its application to imports and exports.
1969- May 1977. Promoted to HIGHER EXECUTIVE OFFICER dealing with policy and casework on VAT, with a short secondment as a PROJECT OFFICER working on a new import entry processing system.
1977-1982. Joined the HSE as SENIOR PERSONNEL MANAGER handling all personnel matters in HSE: direct management responsibility for 15-20 staff in each post.
1982–84. Permanent voluntary transfer to HM Treasury, to ordinate policy and advice to departments on staffing and industrial relations aspects of introducing new technology across HM Treasury and Cabinet Office.
1984-87. Career development transfer on loan to the REGISTRY OF FRIENDLY SOCIETIES as Head of Establishments Section dealing with personnel, accommodation and registry services with direct management responsibility for 28 staff.
1987-92. Appointed on loan to the OFFICE OF PARLIAMENTARY AND HEALTH SERVICE OMBUDSMAN responsible for provision of all personnel, finance and common services for whole of the Ombudsman’s office: direct management responsibility for 28 staff.
1992-2001. Appointed permanently as PRINCIPAL ESTABLISHMENT AND FINANCE OFFICER for the GOVERNMENT ACTUARY’S DEPARTMENT and member of GAD Top Management Board with responsibility for all GAD support services: finance, personnel, accommodation and computer services; direct management responsibility for 20 staff.
In May 2001 I retired from the Civil Service having enjoyed 41 years of Civil Service management experience in 6 very different government departments, all located in Central London.
In 2002 I moved to Barnstaple from Byfleet in Surrey, where I lived for 32 years. I returned to my roots, having been born in Bideford, where I lived until I left to work in London at the age of 19. For recreation and for fitness, I play badminton twice a week, play golf when I can, enjoy country and coastline walks, and am a dedicated gardener. I am a keen watcher of and enjoy Rugby Union. I am a father of two children, now grown-up.
For a total of 7 years, while my children were at school in Surrey, I served voluntarily on their middle and secondary schools Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) Committees. For 4 of these years, I served as Chair, and then vice Chair of the middle school PTA Committee. I co-founded and served on Byfleet Village annual Fireworks Display committee until its disbandment.
And what follows is his article in the 2014 edition of the Bidefordian:
Dear Fellow Old Boys, as we celebrate the 80th anniversary of our Old Boys Association, first of all may I say how pleased I was to be your President for the past year 2013-14, and at the same time thank my predecessor and my old classmate, Colin Heal, for his good wishes expressed in last year’s Bidefordian.
For those of you who don’t know me, and for those who were not able to attends and thus did not hear me speak at last year’s Annual Dinner, you may wish to know to which of the many Bideford Beer families I belong. My parents were George and Edith Beer, and I had two brothers, Peter and Graham. On a sad note, I am the sole remaining member of the five of us. But on a positive note, and something for the OBA’s archives, we four boys all attended the BGS, and George when the school was in North Down Road, which building still stands today.
George and Edith started a grocery business in the 1930s, first in Torrington and then in Honestone Street, Bideford. The business expanded during the war and as a result of rationing my father developed a regular country village grocery delivery service, delivering to places such as Monkleigh, Frithelstock, Abbotsham, Tawstock, Littleham and Weare Gifford, which continued for many years. After the war, George opened a second shop in Furzebeam Terrace, East the Water, and both Peter and Graham joined the family business immediately on leaving school and, ending as their Partnership, the business lasted until Peter’s early death in the 1990s – a span of over 60 years.
I attended the school between 1952 and 1959 and having stayed on for my A levels, I decided not the join the family business, but to apply to join the Civil Service as a junior exectutive. I did so along with my then fellow 6th Form members, many of whom you will know, Brian (Archie) Jeffery and Michael (Henry) Lee. We were all successful applicants and so, in 1960, we all joined the Civil Service. Archie and Henry were both appointed to the Inland Revenue and I to the HM Customs and Excise, and all our offices were located in central London. And so, from being schoolboys one day we all became tax collectors the next!
And in the next decade we were joined in London by the two other Old Boys, Colin Heal who joined a large accountancy firm and Derek Thorne, who was continuing his architectural studies. Naturally, all of us continued to play and enjoy rugby and of course, it’s associated jollities. Archie and Henry both joined and played for the London Civil Service Rugby Club and I joined and played for the sadly long defunct Customs and Excise Rugby Club. Both Colin and Derek also played for my rugby club even though they never worked for Customs and Excise!
I got married in 1971 and later had a son and a daughter. My career in the Civil Service progressed through the 70s, 80s and 90s, and yes you could have a career in those days, and mine was a very interesting, successful and satisfying one. I spent 40 years as a manager in the Service, variously as a caseworker, policy advisor and a Finance and HR Manager, working in six very different Govt. Depts – Customs and Excise, Health and Safety Executive, HM Treasury, the Registry of Friendly Societies and the Building Societies Commission, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and finally the Government Actuary’s Dept. (GAD). The last is one of the oldest and smallest Govt. Dept., whose main role is providing a pensions consultancy service to the public sector.
Over time my Civil Service career progressed upwards, ending in a Senior Management grade of GAD, in charge of all the Dept’s support services – Finance, HR, Accommodation and IT. Toward the end of my time in that role I was awarded the OBE in the 2001 New Year’s Honours List. This was mainly in recognition of my overall management responsibility for the relocation of the whole of GAD, comprising 150 staff, from our offices in Kingsway across the Thames to the South Bank. I managed to ensure that the move was funded within GAD’s existing running costs, with no extra call on the Public Purse and the whole Dept., heavily dependent on IT, was up and running on the first day in our new premises.
I retired from the Service and returned to live in North Devon (sorry, to Barnstaple) in 2002. Then in 2006 I joined the Board of Trustees of the then Bideford and District Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) as their Chair, doing broadly the same job as I was doing when I retired, though as an unpaid volunteer. I served as Chair for 4 years, during which time I oversaw 3 mergers, with Bude and Holsworthy CAB, Mid Devon CAB, and North Devon (Barnstaple) CAB. I remain a Trustee of what is now the Torridge, Mid, North and West Devon CAB, which is currently headquartered in Bridgeland Street, Bideford, with offices or sub offices in Barnstaple, Holsworthy, Torrington, Ilfracombe, South Molton, Crediton, Tiverton, Collompton, Okehampton and Tavistock. Thus, in this role, I feel I am now using all the experience gained in my working life for the benefit of my native community.
So why am I telling you all this? Well, I wanted to put on permanent record that none of my achievements would have happened without the excellent education I received at BGS way back in the 1950s. I have nothing but happy memories of my years at BGS, I was never bullied, which says a lot for the spirit of the school back then. I know now that as 11+ entrants in the 1950s we enjoyed a somewhat privileged education, but I am grateful that BGS put me on the path to the success I achieved, and so I was particularly delighted to be the Old Boys President for the past year.
I will finish by adding my thanks and those of our Association to Mary Law for her unstinting and successful efforts in continuing to produce our annual Bidefordian alongside her busy day job. Like many of you, during my 40 years away from Bideford, reading all the various Old Boys’ contributions, brought back many happy school-day memories, and kept me in touch with my roots.
Finally, my good wishes go to my successor and President elect, Martin Fishleigh, as well as to my fellow Old Boys.
