Bridport mourns the death of Fido May

With his death on July 10 at the age of 83 they have been lining up to pay tribute to the man whose name was synonymous with so many events and institutions in Bridport.

Among them is former Bridport News editor Margery Hookings who instituted the infamous ‘Where’s Fido?’ feature in the News, still fondly remembered by his family.

Mrs Hookings said: “I'm sorry to hear Fido is no longer with us. What a character!

“I got to know him over the years through the Bridport News and also because I once lived at Melplash, where he was living at the time.

“ The word 'unique' is overused these days but Fido was truly unique, a one-off with a terrific capacity for telling the most incredible and often outrageous stories.

“He also raised so much for charity over the years. He'll be greatly missed.”

Coun David Tett, who has known Fido for more than 40 years, said he was noted his integrity, irreverence and sense of humour.

He said: “He had a tremendous sense of humour. He ridiculed me on many occasions but I didn’t mind.

“He was a great servant of the town and he will be missed, there is no doubt about.

“He could hold an audience and could bring a laugh to the proceedings.”

Last year Fido was proud to have been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) by Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset Angus Campbell at an investiture ceremony at Bridport Town Hall.

Fido, formerly of the Queen’s Royal Lancers, was Bridport and district RNLI president for many years and was presented with the institution’s gold badge by HRH the Duke of Kent in 2009.

At the time, he was only one of two people in Dorset to be awarded the badge in recognition of his work for the RNLI.

Mr May was also a member of the RNLI’s national committee of management for fundraising and was also chairman of the American and international committee which funded three lifeboats.

He had a town plaque presented to him in 2012 for his work organising the town’s Remembrance Parade for four decades.

Sam Martin was his secretary for 16 years.

She said: “It was only recently he stopped attending meetings for all the RBL and RNLI.

“He was a character and will be sadly missed.

“When I first met him he was going through a secretary every three months because he was so difficult and wanted everything all his own way.

“Then he met me who didn’t give him all his own way and stood up to him and he respected that and we got on very well.

“We were very close. He was very sweet and thought the world of me and used to tell me so all the time.

“I did learn a lot from him. I’d never met anyway quite like Fido before . He taught me how to write a letter and get the best out of people in the way you write to them.

“He was well known for raising thousands and thousands of pounds. Although when you rang people would say of’ oh no it’s Fido again, tell him I am out’.

“He used to be able to get money out of people to raise all these funds because he was like a dog with a bone. He wouldn’t let go, he went on and on until people just gave in.

“I don’t think you’ll find anyone quite like him. He had a lot of pizzazz and knew a lot of people in high places.

“ He was always talking about the duke of this, the lord of that and sir so and so.”

HONOUR: Fido may receiving his BEM from Lord Lt Angus Campbell

Bridport Town Council clerk Bob Gillis said: “He was very dedicated to the town and worked tirelessly to ensure the successful organisation of town parades including the annual Remembrance Parade.

“The Mayor has written to the family on behalf of the Town Council. Councillors and officers who worked with Fido will remember him with great affection and gratitude for his long and dedicated service on behalf of the town.”

Fido May was no stranger to honours – and no stranger to the hard work and dedication it takes to support community causes, from parish church restoration appeals to the RNLI and the RBL and the sea cadets.

He also helped with fundraising for Bridport’s St Mary's church £100,000 stonework appeal which reached its target in a year and helped browbeat the BBC into paying towards tower restoration at Powerstock Church when it came to film Village Praise there in 1993.

Like many parishioners, he remembered the days when Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced was filmed in the village, and houses in the neighbourhood were rented out for hundreds of pounds.

He is reported to have said to the BBC producer who wanted to deal with the mild-mannered chairman of the parochial church council: “Now look here the treasurer of the PCC is a good Christian woman. You're dealing with me now and I'm the best pheasant shot in Dorset.”

Fido was born Reginald Vivian May on 23rd January 1933 near St Albans.

He was the youngest of five brothers.

He went to Harrow School and often remarked they were the "five of the happiest years of my life".

Following Sandhurst he joined the 17th/21st Lancers and served in Germany.

On leaving the regiment, he went into the family engineering business, George Kent Limited. After a while he was sent to South Africa for three years to sell the company's products (water meters). He also had a short stint in the West Indies. While at George Kent, he and the firm received the Queen's Award for Export.

After 11 years there, he spent a while with Lancer Boss as sales director; formed a small engineering sales business; before heading to Dorset in 1969 to take on St. James' Secretarial College in Bradpole. Within a short time, he had other colleges in London, Winchester and Bath. When St. James' was sold, he started providing consultancy services to schools.

His son George said: "We, his children, George, Patrick,Teresa and Richard are immensely proud of his achievements. Dad was a family man, going out of his way to assist us in any way he could. He took a very keen interest in each of his seven grandchildren."

His funeral is on Friday August 5 at 2pm in Powerstock Church.