In early 1959 Ted was asked by his senior official at Yorkshire Bank head office to form a Yorkshire Bank Bridge Section, to organise practice bridge drives, to select a team of four for the League and to be the playing captain of the team. All this was fine except for one thing – Ted had never actually played bridge! Ted had to learn the game, learn how to run a drive and, the most difficult of all, to find a partner. The League lasted 40 years.
Ted has for two decades performed many duties for Yorkshire CBA. He retired from the last of these as Membership Secretary at the end of March. He was Vice-Chairman from 1990 – 1994 and since then his principal posts have included Treasurer, Editor of the Bulletin and Yorkshire League Secretary. For most of the 1990’s Ted was one of Yorkshire’s delegates to the EBU Council.
First started directing county events in the early 80’s and finally hung up his “directing shoes” in 2008 having done many a score if club, county and charity events to say nothing of bridge holidays both in the UK and abroad.
As Treasurer Ted computerised the YCBA accounts, and as Membership Secretary he undertook the mammoth task of transferring well over two thousand members records to the computers. Ted also created a membership program that checked the eligibility of players in the Yorkshire League.