Scotsman Obituaries: Ron Bird, offshore worker turned community activist and literacy worker

Ron Bird co-founded the Guarana street drumming band

Ron Bird was a prominent, colourful and distinctive figure in politics and community activism in Aberdeen for almost half a century.

Born in Birmingham in 1952, he moved to Aberdeen to work offshore in the North Sea, and this is where his political activism first came to the fore. He became heavily involved in campaigns to improve health and safety offshore in the aftermath of the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988. He was a founder member of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee (OILC), which organised large strikes of offshore workers in the summers of 1989 and 1990 to demand oil and gas companies invest in measures to improve safety offshore.

Following Ron’s key role in these campaigns he found it was difficult to secure employment in the oil and gas sector, so in 1993 he enrolled at the University of Aberdeen to study geography. Here he took his experiences of campaigning in the Labour and trade union movement into activism within student politics, to advocate for better student support at the university as well as involvement in national campaigns on student funding.

Ron combined his passion for political change with huge charisma, humour and a flamboyant, colourful dress sense. Cutting a popular and unique figure in the student community he was elected to the Student Representative Council (SRC). In 1995 he successfully ran for election to the President of Aberdeen University SRC, becoming a member of the Court of the University.

In this role, in addition to being a high-profile campaigner on student funding issues, he was instrumental in progressing the establishment of an employment service for students, challenging the university to provide improved mental health support services, creating the SRC’s first website, and launching the university’s first Student Radio station, Slick FM. This experience was to be formative for Ron when he later became involved in Station House Media Unit and MeFM, where he hosted a regular show for community radio.

After graduating from Aberdeen, Ron progressed to a career in community education and in the third sector in Aberdeen. At Aberdeen City Council he took on the role of a family literacy worker, in particular working with fathers needing support. Supporting positive mental wellbeing remained a key element of Ron’s work and he went on to work for the mental health charity Penumbra in the city.

Finally, Ron worked for the Middlefield Community Project where he was described as the charity’s “eco-hero”. Keen cyclist Ron set up a community bike scheme where parents, volunteers and residents could receive a free bike or have their own repaired through free workshops as part of the project.

While Ron made a huge difference to the lives of many people through his working life, a huge part of the legacy he leaves in Aberdeen is the Guarana street drumming band, which he established more than 20 years ago with fellow drummer Darran Gill.

Bringing together people of all ages and abilities, the band – described as Scotland’s busiest Samba and Wind street band – toured festivals and events around the country. While Ron moved away from party politics, the infectious drumming beats of Guarana supported demonstrations and May Day rallies in Aberdeen. Always vividly and colourful dressed, Ron was at the centre of the group with his drum, whistle or orange trombone, orchestrating the performance.

Hundreds of people attended Ron’s funeral in Aberdeen, where his wife Roda, daughter Eve and siblings paid tribute to a husband, father, brother and friend who had played such a huge role in their lives. As people gathered in the crematorium, a video showed Ron at the turntables, with his beloved Reggae collection, playing a reggae version of “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life”.

As Ron was laid to rest in the peaceful Clovery Woods of Rest near Fyvie, the place he chose to return to nature, the drums of Guarana beat their irresistible rhythm across the Aberdeenshire countryside – a fitting tribute to a man whose legacy in Aberdeen and beyond will resonate for many years to come.

Obituaries

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