Vic was an outstanding and very popular police officer who became a great detective and headed C.I.D. as Detective Superintendent for many years. He was very highly respected by all who had the privilege of working with him.

Vic was also a superb sports administrator who had a special passion for boxing.  He was the first Chairman of the Police Boxing Section but he was also a great ambassador for the promotion of Bermudian boxers, serving as Chairman of the  Bermuda Amateur Boxing Association, and later as President of Bermuda Boxing Commission.

His funeral was held at Christchurch, Warwick, on Wednesday 18^th March 2015, and although he had been retired from the Police Service since 2001,  as a sign of the high regard in which he was held, Commissioner of Police, Michael DeSilva, had his senior officers and those of the Reserve Police  attend in full ceremonial uniform, an honour guard of Police pallbearers, also in full ceremonial uniform, and the coffin draped with the Police Flag.

In attendance in the packed church were Premier Michael Dunkley JP, MP,  Senator Jeff Baron, the Junior Minster of National Security,  three retired Police Commissioners,  Frederick ‘Penny” Bean,  Clive Donald, and George Jackson,  and numerous former and retired police officers, and friends.  Commissioner DeSilva was off Island on business, but sent his sincere condolences and personal comments that were read by Roger Sherratt. 

Vic was survived by his beloved wife, Anne, his children: Yvonne (Domenico ) and John (Grainne); brother Ian and sister Lynda (Scotland); his precious grandchildren: Francesca, Luigi and Gianluca; his niece Shirley, nephew Ian and their respective families; The Richmond family in Dunoon Scotland, the Paterson family in England, The Campbell family, The Stuart family; The Howie family in Scotland, numerous other relatives and friends. Harry, Seamus Zorro and the recently deceased Max - man's best friends. 

Retired Inspector Dave Cart read the eulogy for Vic, and retired Chief Inspector Roger Sherratt delivered a tribute to Vic on behalf of the Bermuda Police Service,  both of which are printed below, Retired Inspector John Dale sang a magnificent solo:  The Holy City.

Victor Graham Richmond was born on the 14^th August 1945, to John and Agnes Richmond on Victory over Japan day in the small village of Connel in Argyllshire, Scotland. His mother and father had chosen the name Graham, however, upon hearing the news that the war was completely over, what would be more befitting than to call him Victor?

Victor spent a year and a half from the time he was 11 years old in Mearnskirk Hospital in Glasgow – over 100 miles from his home.  He was never told by his parents what the problem was with his leg but laterally, being the good detective that he was he narrowed it down to probably being Tuberculosis.  Obviously, he missed a lot of his schooling and, in fact, only accomplished two years of high school.

It was then that Victor’s adventure would begin; he joined Stirling and Clackmannan Police Force when he was sixteen as a Police Cadet and served in various police stations until he arrived in Bannockburn. In Bannockburn, Victor attended night school in order to complete his high school education which he did successfully.

One Thursday after church choir practice, two young girls walked into the Bannockburn Police Station to report a lost purse and there was Victor sitting behind the desk. Once the business was finished, and the statement had been taken, Victor asked the girls what did they find to do in the evenings – to which one of them replied we go to the cafe and so his romance with Anne began.

One cold Scottish night, when he was out on a date with Anne, he mentioned to her that he had seen an advertisement for Police Officers in Bermuda and suggested that it might be a good idea to move to a warmer climate for a while.  He applied for a position and was advised that he was too young and that the recruiting age was 21 years.

Time went on and Anne and Victor took their first trip together, which would be the first of many, to the West Coast of Scotland for a camping holiday. At the then age of 20 years old, he called home to his mother to check on her and was told that there was a letter for him from the Crown Agents Office in London. He asked her to open it, and inside were the details of the position in Bermuda.

And so, Victor’s adventure continued and on the 5^th September 1966 Victor landed in Bermuda to begin what he thought was a five year contract with the Bermuda Police Force which turned out to be 35 years of dedicated service to not only the Bermuda Police Force but also to Bermuda.

Anne followed her sweetheart and joined Victor in early 1967 and so began the next stage of a wonderful life.  They were married that year and Yvonne, their precious daughter was born in December. Four years later they were gifted with their equally precious son John.

Victor’s daughter Yvonne and son-in-law Domenico gave him the wonderful gift of his three grandchildren, Francesca, Luigi and Gianluca, whom he absolutely adored. He followed their every move in school, sports and daily activities making sure he had a significant presence in their lives. The weekly Sunday dinners sharing stories with Grandpa, being quizzed on the Capital cities of all the different countries around the world, and the simple catch up will never be the same however, Victor’s memory will live on and continue to encourage, motivate and spark adventure.

Victor thoroughly enjoyed spending time at John and his daughter in law Grainne’s house during the day. He had a routine which he stuck to like clockwork, not that that should be surprising. He loved the feeling of having a purpose, and that he was needed even in the simplest of ways. The scheduled walks with Max and Seamus up at Kessie as well as at 111 with Harry and more recently Zorro will be truly missed by man’s best friends.

Victor was so proud of his children and what they had accomplished in their lives and was never shy about telling them. Victor played one of his most important roles on his life journey, and that was as a father and grandfather. It was in these roles that Victor executed his greatest qualities of being a good listener, a voice of reason, a great story teller, and most importantly a best friend.

Victor had a thirst for expeditions and adventures and a desire to travel the world. Victor was an explorer, and a well organized traveller.  Early this year, Victor was overjoyed to have marked off the 130^th country on his bucket list. After having triple bypass last year March, you’d have thought that he’d have taken it easy, but not our Victor! Victor travelled and marked off several ticks from his bucket list, including, Haiti, Norway and a Paris River Cruise. His family looked forward to all of the stories of his adventures and the friends that he had made along the way. He truly was one of the greatest modern day world travellers. 

Victor had a soft spot for his older brother Ian’s children, Shirley and Ian Richmond who we are very grateful to have here today as we pay our respects.

Victor was a passionate follower of sport, especially when a Scotsman, Bermudian or British athlete was accomplishing extraordinary feats. He was a staunch supporter of Sir Alex Ferguson, until Shawn Goater’s Manchester City showed up to play Manchester United. That was the one derby where he had to support the boy from Bermuda, who, against all odds, had believed in himself and accomplished great things. And so it went, with not only Shawn, but then Kyle Lightbourne, Jontae Smith, and now of course, Nakhi Wells making names for themselves in the English Leagues. All of them he followed with pride of what they had accomplished and how they had, and continue, to represent Bermuda.

Victor’s passion for Bermudians in sport was never more evident than in the boxing community. His family were at times perplexed with how a man who abhorred physical violence could follow such a sport where fighting was the main ingredient. But there he was, in his element either as an administrator for the Boxing Association, a referee or a judge time and again answering the call. He spoke with so much pride of the achievements of Clarence Hill, Troy Darrell, Quinn Paynter whom he accompanied to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and of course our most recent title holder, Teresa Perozzi.

Victor was a man who never showed favouritism, especially when it came to family. There was the time where his son in law Domenico was playing for Prospect football Club and Victor was managing. Domenico was one of Prospect’s better players, however there was a game he unfortunately had to miss as he was working that night. The next game he was dropped. Victor’s wife Anne asked, “Why have you dropped Domenico?” In response Victor replied, “Rai Harrison had a great game in his place, and anyway now that Rai has a moustache as well, he looks Italian so nobody will know”.

Finally, to all of the great men and women that Victor has had a chance to work with in the Bermuda Police Service. You all were like his extended family to him. He loved you deeply, although probably at times had strange ways of showing it. As his immediate family, we are sure there were times he was tough, stubborn and perhaps even a bit harsh. But we know, having experienced it all ourselves, that he did it because he cared about all of you and that it definitely helped in making you the Officers, and indeed the persons, you are today.

Victor truly touched the lives of many with his professionalism, loyalty, compassion and dedication. The family find great comfort in knowing that Victor lived an amazing life, full of adventure and expeditions, great friends, proud moments, and dedicated service. Victor touched many hearts, both in Bermuda and on his travels. It is said that in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, it is the life in your years, and Victor Graham Richmond lived a full life.

He will be greatly missed.

I feel privileged to have been asked to say a few words about Vic’s career in the Bermuda Police Force, and I should start by saying that the Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva would have been standing here this afternoon but he is off Island on business, and has sent a personal message which I will pass on in a few minutes.

It was a young P.C. Vic Richmond who arrived in Bermuda on 5^th September 1966 with a group of 14 recruits from the UK.  And if you’ll pardon the pun, he was a “sterling” young man -  having just spent 2 years serving in the Stirling Police Force in Scotland.

Vic spent his first 5 years in the Force in Central Division, Hamilton Police Station, and as most of those who knew Vic will be aware, he caught the “Boxing Bug” in 1969 when the Police put on their first evening of Boxing at the Police Club.

For anyone not familiar with the Police Boxing “smokers”,  these were male only evenings at which everyone wore tuxedos,  drank champagne, and smoked only cigars,  and even the best of friends would step into the ring for 3 rounds trying to flatten their opponents – and often succeeding!  Several wedding photographs bear witness to this – with grooms sporting black eyes on their big day!

Everything about the evening was very professional, except the boxers, with mainly policeman acting as trainers, seconds,  referees and judges.   These events became so popular that the annual Police Boxing nights eventually moved to packed houses at the Southampton Princess Hotel.

What some may not know is that Vic signed up to fight against Dave Cook – the two of them having arrived on the same plane in 1966.  Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for Vic, he broke his nose playing football just before the fight and had to withdraw.

It appears that Vic made a life changing decision because from then on he abandoned any idea of donning boxing gloves and only ever entered the boxing ring wearing a crisp white shirt and bow tie.  He became the first Chairman of the Police Boxing section where he was affectionately known as “Chairman Mao” (as in Mao Tse Tung), and his football career seemed to take a similar turn;  he also became manager of the  Prospect Police football team through the 1970’s.

He may not have been a star sportsman, but Vic really excelled with his superb administration skills, and genuine interest in the esprit de corps of the Police whether it was managing the football team, the boxing section, or so many of the numerous social events he organized, with the help and support of Anne, such as BBQ’s, Treasure Hunts,  Ceilidh’s,  and I’m told even cricket, which for a Scotsman, is truly extraordinary!

Vic was instrumental in making contact with the Massachusetts State Police back in the late 1970’s which started a series of boxing tournaments with the Bermuda Police.  And he was also instrumental in establishing contacts with the Denver Police and the New York Police Department, resulting in boxing matches with the Denver Police, and participation in events with the New York City Police.

Not only was he a great ambassador for the Bermuda Police but Vic went on to become first a referee and then a judge in local and international boxing matches, and he held the positions of Chairman of the Bermuda Amateur Boxing Association and later, President of the Bermuda Boxing Commission.  His contacts greatly benefitted young aspiring Bermudian boxers such as Quinn Paynter whose travels with the Police Boxing Team to tournaments in the US helped him to qualify for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  Troy Darrell, Teresa Perozzi and Clarence Hill, Bermuda’s only Olympic medalist in the 1976 Montreal Olympics all paid tribute in Monday’s Royal Gazette to Vic’s tireless work for boxing in Bermuda and the help he provided them during their careers.  As eloquently stated by Clarence Hill, “Bermuda has lost one of its greatest ambassadors. Vic’s passing has taken a lot from local boxing. He really did a lot for boxing in Bermuda.”

Getting back to his Police activities, Vic went to work in the Prosecutions Department in 1971, a move that undoubtedly played a major role in his future police career.  He quickly established a reputation as an outstanding prosecutor, always well prepared and very knowledgeable of the law, and he was said to have set an excellent example to young Crown Counsels.  Magistrate K.C. Nadarajah once stated publicly that, “Mr. Richmond presented his case with admirable precision and extreme thoroughness.” His time in Prosecutions provided him with a wealth of experience in preparing files that was to be invaluable when he eventually found his true police calling as a C.I.D. officer.  

Vic was promoted to uniform Sergeant in 1973 while working in Prosecutions and had stints in both Central Division and Prosecutions before cutting his investigative teeth as the Office-in-Charge of Cycle Squad in the late 1970’s.  After reviewing Vic’s performance Chief Inspector Lister wrote that he was an efficient officer who handled men well with good supervision and guidance; he excelled in administration ability, the organization of files, court cases and registers.

It was in September 1982 that he was transferred to Central CID where he really came into his own and spent the rest of his 35 year police career. 

He was promoted to Inspector in 1985, then to Detective Chief Inspector, and later Detective Superintendent in charge of CID in November 1994.  Retired Assistant Commissioner Carlton Adams recalls working alongside Vic as two young Detective Sergeants in Central CID, and he makes the point that Vic’s abilities as a detective were greatly enhanced by his background in Prosecutions because he knew what was needed in preparing cases for court, and he was always willing to pass that knowledge on to young detectives.

In fact Vic had the ideal personality to lead his men and women.  He was in many ways easy going without being overbearing or officious, and he was generous with his time; he encouraged everyone to perform to the best of their abilities and when speaking with those who worked under him he was considered to be easy to talk to and a natural born leader who inspired all those around him.  He also headed many of the major investigations of the day and was always meticulous in everything he did. 

One only has to read the comments in Vic’s obituary notice in the Royal Gazette to appreciate the high regard in which he was held by those who worked with him.  Just a few examples,

“A wonderful warm person, and a superb detective”

“one of the best senior officers I ever worked with”

“one of the most dedicated I ever met in service”

“He was truly in a league of his own, very highly respected by all in the Bermuda Police Service”

“What a fine Officer I had the pleasure of working under. I'll be thinking of all the happy memories I enjoyed with Vic in Cycle Squad, CID and Boxing. If the world was full of Vic Richmond’s it would be a better place.

“Mr. Richmond had a full career, most notably in the CID where he had a reputation as a very accomplished Detective. His personnel file at Headquarters contains details of commendations he received that are too numerous to list, but notably he was awarded the Colonial Police Medal (CPM) for Meritorious Service in the Queen's New Year's Honour’s List in 1998. Vic was a dedicated and very competent police officer who was held in high esteem throughout his service and long into his retirement.

“I didn't work closely with him until near the end of his career when I moved to Narcotics as an Inspector and he was the Acting Assistant Commissioner for Crime. I was a young and novice detective and I will always be grateful for the patience he showed and the personal interest he took in my professional development. The BPS has lost a highly regarded colleague and dear friend, and I offer my thoughts and prayers to his wife and family as they cope with this very sad loss.”

It is a clear sign of the high regard in which Vic was held that so many serving officers inthe Bermuda Police Service and the Reserve Police are here this afternoon in full ceremonial uniform as a mark of respect for their distinguished colleague, along with at least three retired Commissioners and so many of Vic’s friends and former colleagues who served with him.

Vic gave 35 years of dedicated service to the Bermuda Police, retiring in  August 2001, and all who served with him, and the community at large, are all the better for it.

On behalf of all the Bermuda Police family I extend our sincere condolences to Anne, Yvonne and John, and to all of your family both locally and abroad. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with you.