West Hoathly Bowls Club

EDWARD (DAI) HOWICK
(Past President)

A personal tribute

Written by Trevor Swainson in October 2022 shortly after Dai passed away.

Just sending a card in condolences hardly seemed enough when considering the enormous influence Dai Howick had in his life in and around West Hoathly.  No-one knows how he got the nickname of ‘Dai’ when at school, as a far as is known, he had no connections with Wales.

Dai spent virtually all his life in/around West Hoathly, only leaving to do his National Service overseas.  It seems comical now to record his intensive training in the Army on ‘modern’ electronics in the1950s when in latter years he struggled to come to grips with his mobile ‘phone!

I first met Dai in 1979 when I was asked to help audit the Bowls Club accounts.  This turned out to be more than a one-off event and, from then on, I had the privilege of developing a close friendship and partnership with Dai that encompassed much more than just the Bowls Club. 

Dai encouraged me to start playing bowls and, in 1982, I succumbed and joined the Club, coincidentally on exactly the same day as Norman Harbour.  I did not have any of the skills required to become a top bowler but, with Dai’s encouragement, I enjoyed many years of playing in County and other local competitions and Club games. 

The key to Dai’s encouragement was always to play & enjoy each & every game and learn how to lose with grace & without rancour when defeated.  We did have a good few successes that peaked one year in our appearance in the semi-finals of the County Triples.  But win or lose, we would always adjourn to the bar for a pint or two after each game, not to have a post-mortem but to put the World to rights – again and again!

Fairness was the key word in Dai’s life in everything he did.  This became the watchword of the Bowls Club then and set the standard that still exists to this day.  Famously, he led the Club in its dispute with the County hierarchy over the heinous crime of having a lady secretary leading us being banned from the County for a few years. Sadly, only two clubs – Woodingdean and Windlesham - supported us at the time.

Just playing bowls was hardly enough for Dai.  He had the vision & ambition to make West Hoathly something special and to set the standard for all other clubs to aspire to. After being greatly involved in the building of the brick pavilion in the early 1980s, he took an ever-increasing part in the development of the Club culminating in the triumph of digging up and relaying the green in 2001. 

In the period leading up to digging up the Green, Dai masterminded the extension to the pavilion in 1992 and he worked with me to secure the freehold ownership of the whole site of the Club from Mid Sussex District Council.  There were a few tempestuous moments in that latter saga including us refusing to leave a Parish Council meeting until we got their help!

The new green project was perhaps the pinnacle of his achievements.  Apart from his then partners in crime, Terry Smith & Mick Nesbitt, not forgetting Jim the JCB driver, none of us had the first idea how to do this, scurrying back & forth in response to the stream of commands from our leaders. The sheer amount of time & effort put in by us untrained amateurs led by Dai and his partners enabled us to achieve our goal.

In support of our physical efforts, we organised a fundraising campaign that raised nearly £40,000 to fund our efforts, thereby saving us over £25,000 cost of employing contractors.

The doom-mongers and ne’er-sayers outside of the Club thought we were mad to even start this project yet we sowed the seed in November 2001 and played on the new green in the following June on Mower Cup Day; fortune favoured the brave!

Selfishly, I have described just me working and playing with Dai but he extended the same welcome and generosity to every other member of the Club, new or old. He believed that Club games were the most important games and encouraged everyone to play in such matches, often standing down to let others play in his place.

Outside of bowls, we developed a strong friendship and frequently, June, Dai’s lovely wife joined Joan and I on excursions & nights out that always seemed to end up in a pub somewhere!  Dai used to keep saying that he was only a simple builder but his love of reading extended his knowledge far wider.  It was almost as if he wanted to read every book at East Grinstead Library!  We did not always agree but there was always a keen debate on almost any subject - over a beer, of course.

Dai was a keen gardener, vying with everyone to have the best vegetables, the tallest runner beans, the biggest onions, etc. His pride and joy was in growing Delphiniums in a special place at the Club; a display worthy of any ‘show’ garden.

My wife, Joan, and I will miss him so much.  We feel privileged to have known such a remarkable man whose influence made such a positive impact on so many lives.

Thank you Dai.