Andy Leonard pictured with union president Christine Bond, left, and Mary Milton, fellow branch rep at annual conference in May 2012.       13 August 2012   www.bectu.org.uk/news/1620

It was with great sadness that BECTU learnt last weekend (11/12 August 2012) of the untimely and sudden death of Andy Leonard, long-standing branch chair of the Western Freelance branch. Andy died at just 49 years old.

Tribute from David Furmage:  Andy and I have been friends since he worked at Dunlop in the early 80’s, although we had got much closer in recent years. I worked in TV when we first met and enjoyed photography, so we had common interests …  the main difference was I never drank as much as he did!

His CV is a real whose-who of high profile shows. Dr Who, The Bill, Blue Peter, Wimbledon, the FA Cup to name a few. He was booked to do camera on the Paralympics too. He was a very technically able cameraman. A recent job for American TV had him organising helicopter shoots and correcting shutter angles in the cameras to make sure they worked in the USA (I don’t know what that means either, but it sounds impressive!).  He did a brilliant camera review (page 22-29!)  recently for a broadcast magazine, with his very own video appearance, which followed on from his MA in Journalism which he was awarded earlier this year.

We have spent a lot of family time together and shared many ups and downs. He has been a real rock to me recently, over some challenging personal issues I have been facing. I could always rely on him to be there for me.

Television is a tough industry to work in, with freelance rates of pay being largely the same today as they were in the 90’s. Partly because of this he had been a very active rep for BECTU, the broadcast TV union, who paid tribute to him recently. I know he had some work hopes that didn’t materialise, but overall we can all be proud and pleased for what he did achieve during his media career.

I have many memories of Andy. For example, the time I came back to my flat with friends only to find he had been printing photos (before digital) and had covered the lounge floor completely. He always said my home cinema set-up was ‘the best’, and would always watch a film or two when he visited. The last one we watched a week before he died was ‘Get Smart’, a spy comedy. He was always generous to me. Kind. Listened hard and cared about what was happening in my life.

For my part I cared for him and like us all feel he has been unfairly robbed of life, with so much more he could have done and enjoyed.  I will miss him for the rest of my life.  David Furmage

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Luke Furmage remembers: Andy was a great friend, supportive of my film-making ideas and offered me help with my future movies. The last thing I remember is me and him watching the film ‘Get Smart’ and laying bets on how long it would take my dad to pause the movie to make a drink … it was 16 minutes! I will not forget him.   Luke x

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Michael & Jon remember Andy:

Last month Jon and I cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats, raising almost £5,000 for the Breast Cancer Campaign. Andy was generous with his hospitality and, over a curry, was keen to hear about our trip. He told us about the, sometimes difficult, life of a freelance cameraman and he told us about the importance of gaffer tape. And that is how we will remember him – securely attaching fake rubber breasts to a pair of panniers.     Michael Morrison

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Luke, Rachel & family remember Andy:  Andy….a great guy!! I didn’t know him all that well but his number 1 claim to fame was being photographer at our wedding! I say ‘our’, my wife is his 1st cousin once removed I think it is!? We both had a lot of time for him, he often came to visit when in the Birmingham area visiting wider family. He was a loyal and proud family member, who always came across as valuing his relatives, both near and far, very highly!!

He was invariably full of cheer, warm and friendly and we were happy to be in his company. He made us laugh and his sharp wit was always good to share, bringing out the fun side in us!! Always good when someone makes you feel warm inside…..he did that!!!
His periodic house visits coupled with his genuine interest and concern for us, our lives, and likewise those of Rachel’s siblings and children, will be greatly missed! He was one of those people who was bothered enough to ask and not because he felt he ought to…he really wanted to know and he really cared!! A family man through and through!!! He reminded me of the importance of valuing mine, every time he came to visit…..

He stayed over night at ours once and came to a church service with us in the morning..he loved the words of one the children’s songs which included the line…”my god is fab and he’s my mate”!! He laughed at the idea of it for what seemed like an age and we joked about having a beer down the pub… with God!! Andy struck me as somebody who was a good mate and an all round fab guy…..more godly then than perhaps he thought!? 😉 Molly, our eldest daughter, obviously thought so….as one who likes to share the detail and really likes to talk, she found him more accommodating than most and was very sad to hear the news; despite not having spent much time with him she appreciated that time greatly….he made her feel special!!

Andy…. we’ll miss you!!!
Luke, Rachel, Molly, tristen & Fynnlay-Joel

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Neil Mackin remembers Andy:  I recall first meeting Andy at the Prince of Wales in Bristol in 1986. My wife to be, Joanne, had invited me to meet a lifelong family friend. Years later Andy told me my mother-in-law to be had also asked him to check me out as well. Well we both liked real ale so apparently I got thumbs up.

Since then, Andy became a dear friend whom I probably saw more of than Joanne did. We had our minor differences: timekeeping, 9 to 5 employment, living with a family, ability to function without intravenous supply of coffee and views on politics which filled many a beer soaked evening.

Nonetheless, he cared and was supportive in many ways such as being our most travelled baby-sitter coming all the way from Bristol to west London – that might even have been a rare occasion when he was on time. He listened to the ups and downs of family life, sadly something he never enjoyed for himself first hand. He was one of my closest friends, in whom I confided much, to whom I knew I could always reach out if I needed and he’d make every possible effort to help.

Over the years I listened at length to the many trials and tribulations of working, or mostly non-working, life of a freelance cameraman; from Thatcher’s attack on the unions to Sky’s willingness to single crew with bright young things holding a video camera from Dixon’s. Many times I gently suggested that perhaps a career shift might be in order. Looking over the tribute site now, reflecting on his evident passion for cameras, I wonder if I was wrong all along.

I was amazed when he took on the Journalism MA, perhaps a greater challenge than he realised to deliver post graduate level essays when his previous writing in recent years had mostly been massacring the English language in text messages. We spent many hours, and pints, discussing his essays on ethnography and it was a truly great achievement to pass.

I’ll miss his friendship and in due course perhaps I’ll also miss the meals out where he could never simply order something on the menu, the text messages and Christmas cards in Andy-speak, the random phone calls about having to come to London and wondering if we could meet up and/or had a spare a bed.

As another friend put it “the world has lost a character”. I’ve lost a dear friend, one I am dearly grateful to have known.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Jo Mackin remembers Andy:   I’m sitting in a caravan in Bristol, waiting for my girls to wake. We have come directly from Greenbelt to Bristol, it was pointless to go home in between that and the funeral, from mud to rain and now I have time to think what Andy meant to me.

Andy and I with family and friends endured and enjoyed many a wet camping trip to Wales or Cornwall and even France, although I don’t remember rain there. Nose bleeds in cafes, games on the beach, Christmas parties, weddings and later funerals. Our parents were best friends and they were our God parents but Andy and I were friends not because of them but because as adults we were friends in our own right.

Andy frustrated us at times but he lived knowing he probably would never be on old man. He sent silly, funny and sometimes rude birthday cards but he never forgot. He never ordered a meal as it was off a menu, always could he have something else but peas or his egg scrambled not fried. He muddled the English language to wish us ‘happy crimble’. He supported everything we did and would have travelled a thousand miles at the drop of a hat if we would have said we needed him.

I will miss him more than words can ever describe, every milky coffee, every plate of peas, every pint of beer will be a reminder. The wound will heal in fashion but never completely.

So we will go to our last funeral together one I never expected to do so soon. He was my friend.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

John Keedwell remembers Andy:  What a shock when I heard. Andy was a dedicated and thoughtful man, and we went back a fair way on multi camera shoots. He was always fastidious at work, making sure the detail was right, and he was one of the few people I can honestly say was a delight to work with.
He was always a cheerful chap, and liked a beer and life as much as the next person and enjoyed a laugh at the silliest of things.

I wanted him to work with me at Thatcham in crashing cars at high speed, as he liked the idea of new stuff and new toys to play with, and using high speed cameras. It wasn’t to be sadly, for matters out of my control, although it was lovely to meet up with him again for that possibility.

He will be sadly missed by all who knew him and worked with him. That really is the case, and I don’t say that lightly.
I intend to be there on Friday.       John Keedwell

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Jacky Lynch remembers: Andy and I started working at Dunlop on the very same day – the 18th August – 32 years ago today as it happens. We hit it off immediately as we sat through our site inductions and made sure we caught the bus together that evening to talk through the days events – we were laughing so much and fighting over a Grannie Smith that we missed our stop…

Even though the distance meant that we couldn’t see each other all the time, we have been the best of friends since that day – daft nights out / various trips and great weekend breaks etc. Happy to join in with mine and Garys family Christmas celebration or what ever came up and he was oh so supportive to me last year when my dad passed away…

I can see him now in my minds eye, dancing round at my birthday party last year wearing a feather boa and I’m sure all of you will just be able to close your eyes and hear that great booming laugh of his when you think of him too.

The world is going to be a much sadder place without him in it.   Jacky Lynch

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

John Crumpton remembers Andy: I was tremendously saddened to hear of Andy Leonard’s sudden and untimely death. It’s to my great regret that I’d only got to know him over the last few years – mainly through our mutual involvement with BECTU. I wish we’d have me much earlier in our lives because once acquainted we became firm friends very quickly and soon realised we had a lot in common. Andy seemed like a kindred spirit.

Andy had a great sense of humour and a matching dry, often self-depreciating, wit. He could be a very funny guy but had a serious side that was usually to the fore. He cared deeply about people, social and work issues, his craft as a cameraman. He committed immense amounts of his own time and efforts trying, and sometimes succeeding, in changing things for the better.

As freelances we’d both been through the ups and downs of this type of work . The ups -the creative engagement with other production crew, the satisfaction of solving technical problems, the pride in doing a professional job, the enjoyment of location camaraderie. And the inevitable downside -the ‘promised work’ that failed to materialise, the phone that failed to ring and the financial insecurity and the stress this can cause.

Many freelances get ground down by it all. Not Andy. He never revealed negativity or displayed a defeatist attitude. (Although like us all he must have been times when he experienced these thoughts and emotions).

A man with a great insightful intelligence, determination and enthusiasm (when not working) he threw his energies in trade union activities (amongst other things) thinking of, and finding ways to support his colleagues.
He kept abreast of the rapid technological changes impacting on the industry especially in his chosen field of cinematography.

He discovered ways to enhance his talents and learn more skills. He studied single-mindedly for his Masters Degree. Going the extra mile in the process -shooting his own interview based documentary about his study topic.

He showed how he was determined to develop this potential by becoming adept at IT. To me he seemed a wizard.

As web editor for the Western Freelance Branch Andy created a website that was the envy of every other branch in the union and was justly honoured by the union’s annual conference for his efforts.

He used his contact book to organise with other BECTU members the hugely successful Western Freelance Fair in Bristol in February 2011. I shot some footage there and made a short film about it which contains a short clip of Andy welcoming attendees.

The BECTU Western Freelance Fair, Bristol – full version from John Crumpton on Vimeo.

He was already planning another one for next year with the WFL Branch for whom his passing and that of another colleague a few day’s earlier is an immeasurable loss.

We’ve lost a truly unique, warm, kind and generous human being, who it was a privilege to know (if all too briefly) as a friend and comrade and who I’m going to miss immensely.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Dee Poulton remembers Andy: I first met Andy on the Greek Island, Mykonos. We were looking about some ruins & he appeared & began chatting to me. We then bumped into one another again in town that evening & we all went for a beer & a bite to eat. He was travelling with Mark Wright. To cut a long story short, we became good mates and saw a lot of each other where possible during my time working and travelling in the UK. We ended up organising a weekend in Dublin for St Patricks Day in 2000. The boys knew it was on my bucket list before my visa ended and I needed to return to Australia. I have very fond memories of my time with Andy & Mark, and I am extremely sad indeed to have received the news from Mark. It is certainly a deep shock and I can only imagine what his friends and family must be feeling.

I’ll remember Andy as a fun loving character who enjoyed a visit to any pub and enjoying the social contact it entailed. I will certainly raise my glass in honour to Andy on the 31st August 2012 and send my deepest condolences to you and your family Sue.

Regards, Dee Poulton (Aussie mate)

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Keith Massey remembers Andy:  I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to Andy’s family at this very sad time. His friends and colleagues, I know, have been greatly shocked by his sudden and untimely death at the aged of 49, and I have seen many tributes on two cameramen’s forums that Andy was a member of. I met Andy on several occasions on BECTU business where we were trying to achieve improvements in working conditions – an area I know that Andy cared and was passionate about. We’ve lost one of the ‘good guys’ of our industry.     Keith Massey, Chair of The Guild of Television Cameramen

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

I’m so sorry to hear of Andy’s death.
Wilfred Darlington, Vice-Chair, North West Freelance and Independent Branch, BECTU

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Simon from TV-Bay/DV User remembers Andy: Hi Firstly I’d like to offer my condolences in the loss of Andy at what must be a very hard time for you. I have known Andy for a number of years through our tv-bay magazine and most recently our dvuser magazine in which he was the guest editor in the most recent issue. We met in Bristol earlier in the year and spoke often about the brilliant camera review he provided us for the magazine. I know it went down very well with the readership and the video version also has many views both on YouTube and our own site. We are about to go to print on the next issue of dvuser and, although it is very soon, I wondered if you would like to provide some words in the form of an obituary that we could publish. We all had the deepest respect for Andy and his professionalism and really enjoyed working with him, he will be sadly missed. We would normally look for approximately 300 words plus an image and would need it by 25th August. I understand if it either too soon or you would rather not but thought you should have the opportunity at least. If you can email me at simon@tv-bay.com then that would be great. Best wishes, I love the idea of the fireworks by the way 🙂    Simon Tillyer Editor tv-bay / DVUSER Magazines.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Dave Blackham’s message to Sue, Iain, Alex & Katie:  I’m a friend of Andy’s and work colleague from the BBC 25 years ago and have been working with him ever since we both left. I’ve employed him, he’s employed me and we have had a few good moans together and well as fun. underneath that rough exterior he had a heart of gold. I was born in Brimingham and bought up in Shropshire though worked in Bristol so I have some idea of his Brummie throughs Andy outlook. I speak in the present tense as I feel he’s still around here some where. Its very difficult him leaving us so soon and Ive not got my head around it yet. He was a good friend and we all had immense respect for him and he will always be missed. I spoke to Andy every couple of days probably and saw him every couple of weeks, one topic of conversation was you and your family. He always mentioned you and I know you were always in this thoughts, I know he loved his family very much.   Best Wishes, Dave Blackham

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Brian Kelly remembers Andy:  I want to use the tribute site to send my condolences to Andy’s family and friends …. Many friends. I have rarely been quite so shocked and devastated as I was when I heard of Andy’s sudden and unexpected death last week. I knew him via BECTU where he got involved as a branch rep and then took on the learning rep role …. Working with colleagues to organise some brilliant and popular events in Bristol. Andy was quite relentless and energetic. He was clear about his values and was driven to make things better for everyone …. and just would not take no for an answer. I last saw him earlier this year at a seminar we organised on a barge in London ….. He had plenty to say and lots of ideas. He was good company was Andy and we will miss him so much. So, he was a dedicated professional camera man, a great union activist and was dedicated to making things better for all ….. He will be a genuine loss to us all … Irreplaceable really. A good man who made a difference.      Brian.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Message to Sue from Andrew Barrack:   Dear Sue, I was shocked and saddened to hear of Andrew’s death. Kathie Rawcliffe wrote to tell my brother and I the sad news. I know it was our parents who were friends and we never kept in touch but I send my condolences and wish to let you know we are thinking of you at this difficult time.   Yours sincerely Andrew Barrack

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Julian Clode remembers Andy from their initial training at the BBC

It was Monday 12th October 1987 when Andy  and I drove through the hallowed gates of BBC Wood Norton training centre. I was both excited and terrified at the same time. So many stories of the army style training regime where you were thrown out for not passing the weekly exam!

The course photo Brian posted on Facebook shows how young and naive  we all were.  Due to the pressure to learn all there was to know about lining up 1/4inch tape machines and load film cameras, Andy, Brian and myself met together before the lectures to compare notes and encourage each other. Andy and I were the only ones going to Bristol as camera trainees and so as we leant on one another for support, we became friends.

Andy loved to spend an evening in the BBC Club in Wood Norton where they served excellent home made food and great beer ( so I am told!). Andy always had a Pâté with toast and a big bowl of soup. In fact whenever he ordered food he always made sure he started with a bowl of soup. When the training finished we shipped out to BBC Bristol and Studio A. I will never forget Geoff greeting us and saying “we thought you were coming next week. Go away and come back in a weeks time”.  Well it gave us a few days to find a place to rent together not that far from the BBC on Bishop Rd.  Poor Jo our very patient Landlady learnt to handle Andy’s extremely tough financial negotiations and still make a small profit. Eventually I moved out as more and more of Andy’s furniture moved in. A few years later and we both qualified as Cameramen on our Q course.

I didn’t see a lot of Andy after  BBC Bristol studios closed but when he saw me he was always very warm and kind.  He would ask after my family with genuine love and interest.

Goodbye and God bless Matey x

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Dale Hemenway remembers Andy:  I have known Andy since Infant school as we both attended Saint Lawrence Infant and Junior and then Bournville Comprehensive. It was at Bournville that we became firm friends having the same interest in TV and Film. Andy leaned more to live action and me to animation. On Andy’s 11th Birthday his dad took us to see The Towering Inferno. Andy would announce each actor as they appeared but, more often than not, get their names wrong! The guy sitting infront eventually lost his patience and turned round and told ME to shut up!

It was around this time that we set ourselves up in ‘business’ washing cars. Every Saturday we roamed the streets of Northfield knocking on doors offering to clean cars for 30p a time. It wasn’t a very successful venture but we had a great laugh. Two 12 year olds with buckets of water, you can imagine….

I remember my brother and I going to see Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan with Andy. We arrived early and, thinking we were late, rushed into our seats only to see Spock die and the last 10 minutes of the film then sit alone in the cinema waiting for it to start again. I went to see many films during this time with Andy and luckily he had learned not to talk during the film by now. I also remember my brother and I going with him to see ELO at the NEC in December of 1982 and we had the worst snow ever that day! We managed to get a train to New Street but no trains were running from there. Andy hailed a taxi and the taxi driver drove like a maniac on ice rink roads to get us there on time. when ELO did a concert the following week at half price for those not able to attend due to the weather we went again.

t’s only when we lose someone that we truly realise how much difference they’ve made to our lives. My wife, Lindsey, and I visited Andy in Bristol about 16 years ago and in the evening we all went to yet another ELO concert. Afterwards he said “wait here” and we assumed he’d gone to the loo or something. He returned and said “come on, I’ve got us in to see the band”. He had too! Andy knew I was a huge fan and what he did that day will be with me forever. I have photo’s of Andy and me with Kelly Groucutt who died two years ago. A treasured memory.

A few years later when I was a struggling freelance animator Andy called me informing me of an advert he’d seen in the Guardian for stop-motion animators to work on a new children’s series. “Send your showreel” he said. Andy had more faith in me than I did and called again a few days later asking if I’d sent my showreel. On hearing I hadn’t he said “Okay matey, I’m going to call again at the weekend and you’re going to tell me you’ve sent your showreel”. I did send it just so I could tell him I had. A few weeks later I started work on Bob the Builder. The happiest 10 years of my life were spent there. Andy visited the studio one day and enjoyed talking to everyone and checking out the camera’s.

After Lindsey and I moved to Cheshire I saw less of Andy. We still talked occasionally and he found time to help and advise me when I had problems at my new place of work. Andy was chuffed when I told him a few months back how his advice had been responsible for many changes for the better at work.

The thought that I will never now get the chance to ever see Andy again is heartbreaking. I realise now more than ever that I have so much to thank Andy for. I will never forget you Andy

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Drew Smith remembers Andy:   I first met Andy in TV Centre studio 2 – working on “Newsnight.” back in 1991. We immediately got along and over the last 20 or so years became close friends -as is the story with so many of his work colleagues.

I am so glad to have been able to speak to him for 2 hours or so during one of his regular ‘brief chats’ on the Friday before he passed away.

If ever you needed professional advice or simply a sympathetic ear, Andy was there. His sheer enthusiasm and depth of knowledge for all things ‘camera’ and above all, his natural generosity in all things were an example to us all.

Not so much of a ‘belt and braces man’ as ‘belt, braces, spare jackets, waterproofs and a flask of soup man’ – you’d never catch him without an essential widget or thingummy on a shoot…a trait I came to recognise as a mark of his professionalism.

I have so many fond memories of working and socialising with Andy, perhaps one of my favorites was whilst working with him at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2010:

The whole crew had arrived at the Salt Flats at stupid o’clock in the morning in order to film an early morning run by one of the bikes… Andy was quickly dispatched to his camera position – some 6 miles up the course, to get ready for a shot of the bike passing him… inevitably the run was delayed, so the rest of us decided to have a hurried breakfast in our crew camper van…..as we finished I suddenly remembered Andy, stranded and breakfast-less some six miles away… wracked with guilt (and knowing that there was the ever-so-slight risk that he just might be a tad ‘miffed’ for the rest of the day if he knew he’d missed out on a meal), we quickly put together a large cardboard box full of supplies and I leapt into the (terribly expensive) helicopter we had rented for the week for shooting aerials…

“Where’s the camera?” – asked a confused pilot as he fired up the engines;

“No camera, I said, this is a humanitarian mission – ”

The look on Andy’s face as we landed next to him to deliver his breakfast was priceless…

– for you Andy, any time mate.

The world will seem an emptier place without you and I feel privileged, along with so many others, to have called you my good friend.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Mandy Cox remembers Andy:    Andy and I go back a long way – to Birmingham in the 1980’s to be more specific.  Mark Wright introduced him to me, in a pub (where else?) as a friend he knew from a photography course  they had both done.  There was Andy, a friendly larger than life character, with a loud booming voice, with a pint in his hand. But it was during subsequent meetings that his nickname was born, which was from then onwards used all the time by the Birmingham crowd. He became “The Womble.” He used to appear in a white mac with a huge stripped scarf wrapped round his neck. I knew instantly who he reminded me of – none other than Uncle Bulgaria from the Wombles! So “The Womble” it was!

We sort of followed each other around. I moved to Bristol to study for a degree, then 2 years later Andy arrived there to work for the BBC. I have some amazing memories of Andy. Like the time he invited myself and half a dozen student friends to a BBC buffet after the pub. I’ll never forget the look on people’s faces as these gatecrashers invaded the place for free food; Andy had assured us we wouldn’t be noticed!  And all those times he dropped in for coffee and biscuits. I dread to think of how much of my student grant was spent keeping him in chocolate hobnobs!

I left Bristol to work in Dudley, but ironically returned in 1997, on marrying my husband Simon. Andy was there to welcome us, and update us on the best pubs and restaurants on the Gloucester Rd, which he was especially keen to take us to. Later he moved in round the corner – yet more coffees! And when my son was born we used to have great fun when we popped round, as he cleared a space to wheel the pushchair through to the garden. In fact, it was my son who let on he was called “The Womble”- he just addressed him as “ Womble” one day! When I explained it Andy he just fell about laughing – his nickname was out of the bag after the best part of 25 years!

So that’s how I’ll remember him, howling with laughter at a joke at his own expense! Goodbye Andy, Bristol will not be the same without you . We will all miss you so much.          Mandy, Simon and Nick

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–