T. F. (Tom) Sharp (G 44-47). Tom’s daughter Claire has kindly sent the following: “Tom Sharp was born on 19th September 1929 in Davyhulme, Manchester to Harold and Jenny Sharp. At the age of thirteen his parents decided to better his prospects by Tom attending boarding school at St Bees in Cumbria. Already a keen golfer, Tom thought this was an excellent decision as, in addition to providing a solid education, St Bees School had its own golf course, where he began to perfect his game, especially his match play through various school fixtures.     On leaving St Bees, He took articles in his father, Harold’s, accountancy firm and soon qualified as a chartered accountant. Tom also brought his rugby skills back to Manchester, where he played rugby at Kersal Rugby Club, and was quickly selected for the first team. The club history records that Sharp was a versatile player, fit and fast. He was later to be Captain of Kersal.   Despite his now being a chartered accountant and clearly enjoying life, he had at the back of his mind, that he would like to pursue his interest in the church and theology. He had stayed in close touch with one of the masters at St Bees who was a good golfer and who was also friendly with the President of Corpus Christi College in Oxford, who was himself a very enthusiastic and talented golfer. The story goes that the President of Corpus was very keen to beat Cambridge in the varsity golf matches and really needed some better golf talent in his undergraduates. Tom was hence encouraged to apply to read Theology at Corpus and went to Oxford immediately on finishing his National Service in October 1954.
The President of Corpus regularly played golf with Tom, then inviting him to dine at high table to recount every shot, much to the consternation of his fellow undergraduates. Tom was a golfing Blue, played in the varsity matches and also won an oar rowing for Corpus.   He returned from Oxford to Manchester and his father's business in 1957. It was also that year that he met Shirley and they married at St Mary’s Church, Davyhulme in 1959. For the first two years of their marriage, Tom studied towards ordination at Westcott House, Cambridge, however, in 1961 his father became seriously ill. Tom made the fundamental choice to come back to Manchester effectively to save the family business. He became a lay reader at St Mary’s, but his career was now firmly accountancy.   Tom’s was a multi-faceted approach, after all his background was not just accounting and tax but also counselling, and he just loved talking to people and finding out everything about a person. And his motivation was to help. This was his approach to life too, never judgemental and, through his true interest in people and his kindness, as well as a real sense of fun, he was an inspiration to many both personally and professionally.
From a family perspective, Tom was generous in kind and spirit and created a house full of fun, laughter and music. His three daughters, Heather, Claire and Kate, woke up every morning of their school lives with a cup of tea in bed and grew up singing along to the latest ABBA album, played on full blast on the record player. The joys he gave to his daughters were put into play again when his grandchildren, Kate, Tom, Jack and Freya arrived. He was an advocate of education both for his daughters and his grandchildren. In the 1970s, many wouldn’t have paid such credence as Tom did on educating his daughters, but he always said, ‘you educate a person; you educate a generation.’ Golf played such a huge role in Tom’s life. He was a member of Davyhulme Park Golf Club for 76 years, where he was Senior Past Captain, Senior Past President and held the course record of 67 for forty years.  Tom was a member of the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society, where he gained his first blue at Formby in 1956, winning his match 4 and 3. He captained the Hittite Golfing Society in 1978 and the Senior Golfing Society in 2003 and was a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Society from 1981. He and Shirley played golf on senior tours throughout the world in countries such as Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and many more. In his later years, he particularly enjoyed accompanying Shirley on the Jamborees when she was President of the North. At the age of 91, whilst on a family holiday in Wales, his grandsons played a round at Aberdovey Golf Club and took Tom along in a buggy. Tom wasn’t the best on his feet but picked up a putter and effortlessly hit the ball a couple of inches away from the hole.   Sadly, Tom’s wife Shirley died unexpectedly just five weeks on from Tom’s death. They are survived by their daughters Heather, Claire and Kate and grandchildren, Kate, Tom, Jack and Freya. They are all immensely proud Tom and Shirley’s generosity of spirit, ready smiles, kindness, sense of fun and happiness, and that they both were such a positive impact to so many.”

 

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The St Beghian Society    
St Bees School,    St Bees,    Cumbria,    CA27 0DS.

         Tel: (01946) 828093      Email: osb@stbeesschool.co.uk      Web: www.st-beghian-society.co.uk