James Robert Gard

James, or rather "Jimmy" was what we called him, was one of those kids that everyone loved. He was naturally gifted at whatever he turned his hand too, be it cycling, running, cricket or even painting. But like most kids of that era, he wasn't immune to mischief and a day wasn't complete with out a belting, and Jimmy earned his fair share.

On one occasion when he was nine, he received a belting which he felt was unjustified so he decided to run away. He hopped on his bike and rode off from his Pepin St home in Bellerive. By mid afternoon his empty stomach got the better of him and he decided to head home. The boys learned to adapt to their daily beltings by lining the inside of their pants with the straw that wrapped around their dads beer bottles. Afterwards they would go outside and laugh at how it didn't hurt.

When Jimmy turned 15 his health started going down hill and he was diagnosed with Rheumatic fever. He was declared an invalid which prevented him from working; this left him with a lot of time on his hands. His health was up and down like a yoyo, but when he was good you could find him out in a row boat near Glenorchy, or on a Saturday morning he'd be on his racing bike cycling out to New Norfolk trying to keep up with the other cyclists who'd egg him on.

One of the common treatments for Rheumatic fever at that time was to pull all the patients teeth out. Because of Jimmy's weak heart they couldn't give him any anaesthetic for the pain. During the procedure he told the doctor to just yank them out, while the nurses stood by and cried. The picture at the top right hand side of the screen shows Jim smiling with his mouth closed due to having no teeth.

Jimmy was in hospital when he overheard the doctor tell his Mother he wouldn't be going back home. He insisted this should not be the case and pressed them to let him go. When he arrived back home his father and brothers all took time off work to look after him along with his mother.