Ray O'Leary was a keen sportsman but by no means a cricketer. Football was his passion, not so much the playing of it, as the refereeing. He had the distinction of being one of Bermuda's earliest FIFA referees. He was persuaded into the centre of the soccer pitch in the mid-'50s and continued for several decades.

When he gave up his whistle he explained: "It wasn't too bad when the fellows I started out refereeing sent out their sons to play. But when they began sending out their grandsons, I knew it was time to leave."

So he took the easier role of umpiring softball as opposed to running around the field.

Ray's big moment in time was recorded in The Royal Gazette issue of November 2, 1959. Headlined 'Re-Kick Penalty Protest', it stated:

The first full-fledged controversy of the Bermuda Football Combination's First Division season erupted Sunday afternoon as Ramblers came from behind to force a 2-2- draw with National Sports Club at Nationals field.

Down 2-0 at the half, the youthful Ramblers fought back and finally tied the game with about 15 minutes remaining, on a disputed penalty shot.

It followed a comedy of errors which ended with referee Ray O'Leary squatting on the penalty spot lustily blowing his whistle while players were at the other end of the field. Nationals defence man James Cabral unwittingly touched off the farce when he was blown up for a hand ball with Nationals leading 2-1. After O'Leary pointed to the spot Bruce Hartnell took the kick for Ramblers.

With Nationals goalie Keith Hayward waving his arms wildly Hartnell coolly kicked the ball to Hayward's right. Hayward got a hand to it, cleared the ball and play ranged up-field with the players pounding along with the ball.

Referee O'Leary did not go with them, however. He ruled Hayward had moved. He blew his whistle for the kick to be taken over. But the players apparently did not hear it and continued to ignore him until he squatted on the spot and shrilled long and hard

After finally finding out they were still alive, the delighted Ramblers changed their tactics and had skipper-of-the-day Sammy DeSilva take the kick while Nationals followers screamed in protest. DeSilva made it (scoring from the re-taker spot). Earlier Nationals had taken a 2-0 lead, at the half on goals by Fred Mello and David 'Bushes' DeSilva after 15 and 30 minutes respectfully.

Play had been even during the half with the main difference between the teams being a case of Nationals taking advantage of their opportunities.

After ten minutes of the second half Hartnell scored Ramblers' first goal on a well-timed header.

Brendan 'Bees' Ingham started the play on the right side, sending a long shot across the goalmouth. Dickie Belvin picked up the ball on the left side and sent it back. This time Hartnell got his head to the ball and sent it neatly past Hayward who was the goalkeeper of Nationals.

Raymond J. C. O'Leary was an extraordinarily outstanding ruler in the Freemasonry spectrum of Bermuda. His mother lodge was historic Lodge St. George, No. 200 on the Grand Registry of Scotland (GRS) He was initiated there in 1954.

He served as its Right Worshipful Master for the first time 1958, and again in 1990 and 1994.

He became a master of the Craft, a capable lecturer, a meticulous ritualist with a readiness to draw on his photographic memory and share his profound love and knowledge with others. Unsurprisingly, he was later awarded the rank of Honorary Grand Marshall of The Grand Lodge of Scotland. Bro. O'Leary was instrumental in the formation of the Old State House Preservation Society as a charity, enabling it to undertake fund-raising efforts in support of the four-centuries-old building that Lodge St. George calls its home. It is in fact the Old State House, the seat of government in Bermuda before its capital was moved from St. George's to Hamilton two centuries ago.

Brother Ray was a member of several other Lodges and Masonic organisations. He served as The Grand Superintendent for Bermuda of Scottish Royal Arch Masonry for many years. In addition to his Masonic duties, Ray was also very active in the community, giving of his time and energy to numerous charitable organisations.

Raymond was born in Essex, England, on January 12, 1928, the third child and first son, to Joseph and Anne (Unitt) O'Leary. He grew up in a loving family with three sisters and two brothers. He never remembered being taught to read, but he had mastered that skill by the time he was aged four.

He joined the British Army in 1946, serving abroad in North Africa before coming to Bermuda, stationed with the Garrison at Prospect. He was discharged from the Army with the rank of Master Sergeant. By that time he had acquired a Bermudian wife, the former Mona Monkman, and was ready to embark upon his second career. Studying at night with the Canadian correspondence courses, he gained his Chartered Accountancy papers. It wasn't easy, juggling wife, child(ren), office work and late-night lessons. But he persevered and attained his degree on his first try.

It is important to note that Mona was a healthy baby when born to Amy Hamilton (nee Johnston) and Cecil Leroy Redman on May 23, 1928 at 11.30pm. She weighed 9lbs and was their third (and last) child and only daughter. She had a happy childhood and enjoyed all the games that youngsters play.

When Mona was nine, she went out to play netball for the very first time. Later on that evening, she felt unwell. It turned out that Mona had contracted polio, one of the very few cases ever to be recorded in Bermuda. At one point in her illness, her mother was told that if she got any weaker, she would surely die, as there was no "iron lung" on the Island.

She did recover, somewhat, and was sent to a specialist hospital in New York. There she remained for about a year, getting slowly stronger. When she was 13, her doctors gave Mona three choices. She could wait to see if she regained independent use of her legs. Or she could be fitted for a half-body brace that she would wear attached at her waist, to support her legs. Or she could have surgery to permanently fuse her leg bones, which would allow her to walk (with assistance) and be more mobile. Her mother insisted that Mona make the choice, since she would be the one living with the decision. Mona chose surgery.

The physicians in New York recommended that Mona have swimming sessions as often as possible. Her mother pushed her wheelchair from Euclid Avenue, over the top of Berkeley Hill and along to Spanish Point, so that she could swim each day

One evening in 1951, Mona was visiting a local social club for servicemen. There's where she one particular English fellow from the HQ staff. It was Ray O'Leary, and it was love at first sight. They were married on November 25, 1953. But first, Raymond was taken aside for a "little chat" by Mona's mother. He assured her that he would look after her daughter "properly". Which he did. All the days of her life. Ray and Mona had six children by the time she died.

Mona began full-time work when she was 18, helping out many years at Langston Trading Company, near The Ducking Stool and for several accounting firms as a bookkeeper. Her only formal training was for a well-earned O-Level (Merit) Pass in English which she got when she was 39. Wheelchair-bound, she retired at the age of 65, to concentrate her efforts towards her family and her charitable interests – most especially with the Committee of 25 for Handicapped Children, and with her husband, she also stayed in touch with the Bermuda Physically Handicapped Association, of which she was a founding member.

Ray and Mona were personal friends of this writer, and I would daresay that in these disturbed times, there are many lessons to be learned from the exemplary lives of this dedicated couple.

Albert Victor (Peter) Fox, in his younger days, was unquestionably a flamboyant cricketer. As the years rolled by he grew to be a highly esteemed sports administrator, businessman and active churchman. In short, a respected citizen like his father before him, the legendary "War Baby" Fox, and outstanding St. David's Islander

We need to list only a few of the organisations in which he was involved. As an old soldier, he was a member of the Royal Artillery Association; held office with the Somers Isles Cricket League (those were during the days when Bermuda was rigidly, racially segregated when black or 'coloured' cricketers played in their own league and whites in theirs, known as the Bermuda Cricket Association). He was influential in the St. David's CC. He also served in the St. George's Parish Vestry, in the Reserve Constabulary, and was a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Leopards Club International

In addition, Peter Fox was for 64 years an active member of Hannibal Masonic Lodge No. 224 on the Irish Constitution. And he was a long-serving member of the Blue Water Anglers Club. He was a dedicated member of the Anglican Chapel of Ease in St. David's and was a church warden. He assisted heavily with fundraising his wife Marvel, who was president of the Church Guild.

Peter began his journey in life August 1, 1924. He developed an early passion for the sea and worked on the dredger Lord Cochrane dredging the St. George's Town Cut and Bermuda's main shipping channels.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, along with many of his peers he volunteered for service in the Bermuda Militia Artillery (BMA) and was stationed at St. David's Battery.

Near the end of the war he developed a friendship with his East End schoolmate Marvel Elizabeth Auca Griffiths, of Chapel of Ease Lane, St. David's. They were married on September 12, 1945. Their marriage lasted 63 years, producing two children, Elaine Sandra Fox and Albert Victor Fox, Jr., who is the Sergeant-at-Arms in the House of Assembly.

The couple became fixtures in the East End through their having owned and operated the Black Horse Tavern Bar and Restraint where locals and tourists alike visited for the hospitality and specialised local seafood dishes.