Les Tattersall and Barry Virtue, backstage at the Conservatorium of Music auditorium in 1957, after a performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, 'Iolanthe'.
Les Tattersall was born in Marrickville on the 30th Sept 1931, the second son of Stan and Margaret Tattersall. His older brother, Don, is here with us this afternoon. The family eventually moved to 22 Fortescue St, Bexley North.
Pam and Les were married on the 10th May 1958. They established a home in Kirrawee, in the south of Sydney, where all four of us boys were born Andrew, me, Jeremy and Martin were born.
Les had a very mixed working life. He worked in a foundry. He worked for Hardy Brothers jewellers in the city, before finally settling on school teaching. He had seriously considered singing as a career. He had an incredible voice and had been the lead in a number of musicals and also worked singing at weddings. But he realised that a career in music didn't offer the kind of life or stability he needed if he wanted to have a family.
So it was off to Balmain Teachers College to train for the career in teaching that dominated his working life. He began as a Maths teacher in Heathcote before taking the position as principal of the single teacher school in Cudgegong in 1966.[He actually spent his first three years of teaching, from 1958 to the end of 1960, at Lakemba Public School, then Heathcote High School from 1961 to the end of 1963, Jannali Public School for a year, Loftus Public School for two years and Teacher-in-charge at Cudgegong Public School from 1967.-- Ed.]
Pam and Les were only there for 3 years but the friendships built there have lasted a lifetime and they still have a holiday cottage in the area. From Cudgegong it was back to Sydney. The family moved back to Pennant Hills where Pam and Les would spend the next 20 years. He taught at Fairfield Heights Public School, was deputy principal at Vardy's Road in Seven Hills, and then to the position of principal at Brooklyn Public School, down on the Hawkesbury River.
With the boys all grown up Les had his eye on the job as principal at Rylstone Public School, near where we had lived in Cudgegong, and while waiting for the position to become vacant he took a 3-year contract with the Department of Education. He travelled around NSW as acting principal of difficult schools, schools that needed to get a few things sorted before a new principal could be appointed. While Les was fulfilling his 3-year contract the principal at Rylstone was forced into early retirement and somebody else took the position at Rylstone and Les knew he had lost his chance.
While this was no doubt disappointing for him, other doors opened for jobs that he was far more passionate about. He worked for 18 months as a teacher in the chaplaincy department of St Andrew's cathedral school in the city where a friend of his was head chaplain. The reason the role only lasted 18 months was that he was offered a position working as the pastor of a church in Evans Head on the north coast. He was 57 when they moved to Evans Head and he and Pam loved the time they spent there. From Evans Head they moved to Albion Park just south of Wollongong where they worked with another church for two years. Now with Les in his late 60s they 'retired' to Birchgrove. He continued preaching in a number of places and did some locums in a few churches.
If you knew Les you'd know he was incredibly well read on a whole range of topics. Les was a dab hand at tennis and won far more games than he lost in his younger years, and still managed to wield the racket in a handy fashion in his later life. He loved music, everything from Beethoven to Pink Floyd. He had a fantastic singing voice. He played the saxophone, guitar, piano, clarinet and let's not forget the ukulele, each instrument with varying degrees of proficiency.
And he was beyond a shadow of doubt the most unhandy handyman on the planet. It never ceased to amaze me how such an intelligent multi-talented man could be so impractical when it came to things like changing a washer or fixing a hinge on a cupboard door, or putting a spark plug in the mower. But he loved buying tools even if he lacked the ability to use them. My father had a sharp mind and I'm sure there would be a number here today who have lost an argument with him. I vividly remember walking home from the station with him when I was about 14 or 15. We encountered some unsuspecting Mormons who made the mistake of saying to Les,'How are you today sir?' Les politely said, 'Fine thank you'. But then came their fatal mistake. They said, 'Do you have a moment to talk?” To which Les replied, 'So let me get this straight: you would like to talk to me?' They replied with 'Yes' Les said, 'Just so long as we are clear: you want to talk to me.' At this point I had to leave. I knew what was coming and I couldn't bear to watch. I walked back past the continuing conversation having gone home, got changed and had something to eat but by the time I walked back it had turned into a lecture.
The last few years for Les have not been his best. But he generally remained himself, albeit a slightly forgetful self. Debbie took them both to the doctor for their regular check up which involved a memory test. The doctor asked the standard questions one of which was 'Can you tell me your address?' to which Les replied: 'No.' Pam said, 'Come on Les, you know your address.' And in a response that was typically Les, he said, 'What possible use would I have for that information?'
If you knew Les then you knew that the thing that shaped and defined him was his faith. His trust in Jesus and a desire to live as a serious follower of Jesus shaped the decisions Pam and Les made. Decisions about money, work, houses, cars – the whole of their lives. They were partners in the gospel. Les loved teaching the Bible. He loved to see people 'get it': to understand what Christianity was about. What grace is. What it means to trust in Jesus. What it means to have a genuine personal relationship with God. I could say more about his involvement with Open Air Campaigners or Beach Missions or running the Moore College PTC Class in our lounge room at Pennant Hills. He had a faith that he knew was for sharing, and he did it with passion and commitment. One of the great encouragements for me in recent years was being involved in the Katoomba Men's Convention and each weekend having a number of guys come up and tell me about the impact Les had made on their Christian lives. And in the past few days to hear from those who have known him and those whose lives have been impacted by him. Today is a sad day but we grieve today as people with hope because Les would want to wholeheartedly agree with what Paul says: 'We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him'. (1 Thessalonians 4)