A LOVELY MAN

a David Hyde tribute

 

 

 

When I saw the stark news that Winfield had passed away, I was deeply shocked. We all knew that he was in hospital after his recent misfortune, but I cherished the belief that he would pull through.

 

Throughout the rest of the day, my thoughts were of him and how long we had known each other - not only on the hash but the time when we both were at Torbay Athletic club.

 

Now that the initial shock has subsided a little, I feel I must pay tribute to a great - and I do mean great - hasher, athlete and gentle man.

 

As the years pass, my recollection of time-frames fade. What follows may be a little disjointed or inaccurate, perhaps bordering on the incoherent, but it is, nevertheless, from the heart.

 

For longer than I know, Winfield (a clever hash naming derived from Dave's longstanding work as a manager at Woolworths) was 'Dad' to me on the hash.

 

It was an affectionate term and Dave played along with it. 

 

Everyone knew who 'Dad' was and often referred to him as such. It even spilled over onto the running club, I can remember Greg Fine calling him that down at the club.

 

Perhaps I am rambling, but I vividly recall a hash of yesteryear somewhere far out in the wilds - out of our usual hash territory.

 

I had gone off trail when my headtorch suddenly failed. There were no houses or habitation and it was pitch black. I found myself caught in a dense thicket and was unable to escape. I called as loud as I could for help and my voice carried across the valley.

 

Far away, Winfield turned and said: 'Is that my boy calling?' but he had no idea where I was. The story can be confirmed by Sparkie, Dave's son-in-law. 

 

Habitually late to hashes from his work, he came across me tangled up in fallen trees and rescued me. Definitely a Winfield family night I will always remember with great fondness.

 

Strangely, this was the first thing that I thought of when I heard that Winfield had passed away. It was that memorable and noteworthy.

 

As a hasher, Winfield was a legend. He stands high in the TVH Hall of Fame with over 1100 runs to his credit.

 

As it is to all dedicated hashers, Monday evening was special. Winfield was, unlike a few of us, extremely well organized - a key word - which we will revisit a bit later. His chariot (car to non-hashers) was always spotless and his bag neatly packed. When he retired, Winfield delighted in upgrades to later models, and it was quite luxurious being given a lift in his chariot.

 

Winfield loved a testing trail, the longer, the harder, the shiggiest, the better. I remember him as a FRB (front running b...!) and he was always up there with the lads, cracking a joke and revelling in the test.

Back in the OD (pub on down), Winfield was the life and soul of the party and was often in line for a down-down (penalty drink of beer).

 

Scanning through the archives, I have found dozens of video clips of Winfield downing the ale!

 

As time inevitably took its toll, Winfield slowed a little but that failed to dampen his enthusiasm and he remained a true hasher to the end.

 

Dave's other love was athletics. I know that he was a very successful and talented runner before he embarked on his hashing 'career'.

 

Old friend Denis Doy of Torbay AC wrote this tribute to Dave:

 

Outstanding veteran marathon runner. Great friend and training partner. Credit to the great sporting county of Essex.

 

Dave was extremely modest. You would never hear him talking of his running exploits but apparently he had trophies for road races from ten miles up to a marathon.

 

I can vouch for his stamina. Dave would, like many marathon runners, have a long run on Sundays. Flossie (Andrea Wallace, Torbay AC) might recall one run a few years ago when I joined her, Dave, little Horace (John Hambly) and Flossie's son, (Patrick) Beep Beep for a fifteen miler out at Cockwood, Dawlish.

 

I could hardly stand at the finish but Dave was only just getting going. I missed the next day's hash but Dave was there!

 

We turn to his service to Torbay AC. For quite a few years, Dave was Race Director for the Torbay Half Marathon. It took up a huge amount of his time.

 

Dave was reluctant to delegate duties to others, wanting to make sure it was done to his very high standards. He was a great motivator and organizer. He even got me involved by being the lead cyclist for the race a few times.

 

There were meetings after meetings, discussions even carried over to our social evening up at the Devon Dumpling, Thursday night!

 

I am not sure if Anne knew, but Winfield was always mentioning her and how he was neglecting her and all the chores he should have been doing at home. He often said that the only way he could get away with it was by booking a consolation cruise. There was always a rush to get things in hand before they set sail. Dear Winfield.

 

It was a sad day when Dave messaged me to say that he could no longer be the admin on our page. For more years than I can recall, he wrote the words for our runs. He instilled in me the importance of not missing a week and ensuring someone wrote them.

 

Looking through the many comments on our hasher page and Torbay AC's page, the words 'lovely man' are repeated so many times.

 

A typical comment from BroadS: 

 

Winfield was an awesome chap. Such a lovely guy and so welcoming when I joined. He will be sorely missed. On on Winfield.

 

This from Andy Philippou of Torbay AC: 

 

Proper gentleman, had time for everyone.

 

So many comments of love and the regard that Dave was held in by hashers and runners alike.

Dave touched so many lives. Always smiling, always positive and so inspirational. Most of all he was regarded as a true gentleman.

 

I was proud to call him Dad. In another life, I would have been proud to have had him as my real Dad.

 

Goodbye, Dave, we love you.