Dick Gays (Richard Ernest Gays) 1935 – 2023
Dick Gays (Richard Ernest Gays)
23rd May 1935 – August 2013
An obituary to Dick was written by Brian Golland, who was his best friends and a senior police officer and a Group Scout leader of the 19th Leicester (Evington) Scout Group.
Dick was born in Evington and went to the local village school with Michael Dally. Michael saved this obituary to a remarkable Evington born and bred engineer.
“Although he was very clever and could have achieved an academic life, practical work was what Dick preferred and after leaving school he became an engineering apprentice where he learned the skills that would stay with him all his life.
He became a member of the Leicester and Midland canoe clubs and was a founder of the Leicestershire Association of Canoeists. In those days, canoes were either made of wood or wood and canvas and Dick was more than capable of building his own canoe. His method of manufacture was called ‘Dickwood’. He not only built canoes, but collapsible ones that could be taken on a train. He met his wife Margaret through a canoeing friend. She wasn’t too impressed with Dick’s trick of holding his breath and hanging upside down below his canoe until everyone was fearful that he was drowning. “Showing off” she said, but nevertheless the relationship blossomed and they married and had two children, Ian and Mary.
Dick did national Service with the RAF as an aircraft engineer and spent most of his national service canoeing. He turned his hand to making fibre glass canoes and designed and made the ‘Swift’ canoes and commissioned Soar Valley Product to make them under licence.
After National Service Dick joined the police force and met Brian.
“Dick was more than capable of reaching a high rank. However he had no interest in progressing. He was more interested in his love of the outdoors, but now no longer just canoes. He met someone who parachuted. To further this new hobby, Dick sold the right to his canoes for the price he needed to buy his first parachute. He started to make rip cords and handles that were better and cheaper than anyone else’s. in fact the parachute manufacturer bought them from him. He became a parachute instructor. And you guessed it, he made his own parachute and jumped in it. Apart from one other parachute manufacturer called Irvine, Dick was the only person in this country to have ever made and jumped from his own parachute. He started to make para-shapes:
During this time Dick and Brian parachuted and walked together and with the walking they gradually developed a more fixed team and walked everywhere – Derbyshire (mainly) but Wales, Ireland, the Lake District, North York Moors, the Outer Hebrides and the Scilly Isles. Dick prepared the routes, he must have done hundred and everything was planned to the last detail.
Then Dick found out about REMAP, a charitable organisation of scientists and engineers who make equipment, gadgets and aids to improve the life of disabled people enabling them to live more independent lives. Dick loved designing and making equipment in his workshop and made 82 different gadgets. Towards the end of his life his two main interests were walking and remap. Dick did a lot of work to get REMAP better known. He is sadly missed by them. He was many people’s hero.
Editorial comment:
If you like making things and want to follow in Dick’s footsteps, you can contact Leicestershire and Rutland REMAP by email: info@remapleics.org.uk or call 236 5520. (www.RemapLeics.org.uk)
