Kegham Bedrossian (pictured), one of Richmond Bridge Club's life members, turned 100 on valentine's day this year.
In the picture above he is shown with Sue Millard (left) and Helen Beattie (right)
He was interviewed by Richmond BC about his life so far:
Please tell us a bit about yourself
I was born in Turkey in 1926. My parents moved to Cyprus, which was under British rule, when I was three years old and I spent most of my young adult life on this beautiful island. After secondary school, I went to the American Academy and, when I was eighteen, I got my first job in the government working for the commissioner in Larnaca.
Protests against British rule in Cyprus started in 1952 and, at the age of twenty-three, I was called to the Secretariat in Nicosia where I was given a special job in the Secret Service because I was an Armenian. I went on to have various government jobs including working in the Forestry Department, the Traffic Department and the Central Prisons. When British rule ended in 1960, I was in charge of four detention camps with over 4,000 detainees, all of whom were released shortly afterwards. I was literally the last member of the British Government on the island! I handed over seventeen million pounds worth of goods to the new Greek Government comprising seven Greek ministers and three Turkish ministers. This arrangement caused yet more trouble as the Turks were not happy. The trouble started the night I got engaged, December 1963! I married my wonderful wife Helena in 1964 who is also Armenian.
In 1974, after the partition, I left Cyprus and moved permanently to the United Kingdom. I am a naturalised British subject and still have my certificate from the King who promised to help me out in all difficult situations. I only had £80 when we got the airport. Greek Airlines assured me that they had been instructed to help me out. They took £40 for four tickets and the rest went on hotel accommodation. I arrived in England with two shillings (10p). I was very fortunate that my brother supported us when we arrived in London.
After a few years in England my wife decided she was going to find a job or return to Cyprus. We opened a hair dressing salon. There was only one location I wanted to live in and that was Richmond. We were very lucky as we found a property on Richmond Hill. We named the salon Hair by Helena.
When did you take up bridge?
In 1951 I met a young colonel who was president of a tennis tournament in Wolseley Barracks. When I won the tournament, he came over to congratulate me and asked what we did other than play tennis. I said we played cards. He asked if he could visit and, when he came over, he told us to put our cards away and taught us how to play bridge. In those days you could open with two Aces and a King. I still do!
When did you join RBC?
I am one of the founder members. Before RBC, a group of us including Martin Sinclair used to play bridge on Richmond Hill in a council building. We decided to find a more permanent place. We each paid £100 and, together with the help of the bank, we rented our current premises and started RBC. We are all now life-long members. It’s been wonderful watching RBC grow into the best and most beautiful club in England!
Read more about Kegham's life on the Richmond Bridge Club website