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Timothy John Byford ( sr, Тимоти Џон Бајфорд/Timoti Džon Bajford; 25 July 1941 – 5 May 2014) was an author, film director, translator, and educator.
Byford was born in England, but spent most of his life in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. He became a
naturalized citizen
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
of Serbia in 2004.
He directed children's television programmes, first in the UK for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and later in Yugoslavia, for
TV Belgrade
Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
and
TV Sarajevo. His children's TV series enjoyed great success in former Yugoslavia, and continue to be popular.
Biography
Born in
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, Byford started his TV career directing films for the BBC ''
Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
'' programme.
His first TV documentary ''"I Want to Be a Showjumper"'' won a
BAFTA Harlequin "Rediffusion Star Award" (for Children's Programmes) in 1970.
In 1971 he moved to
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, where he married
and continued to write and direct children's television programmes during the 1970s and 1980s.
He is best known for his children's TV series: ''Neven'' ('Marigold'), ''Babino unuče'' ('Granny's Boy') and ''Poletarac'' ('Fledgling'),
all for
TV Belgrade
Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
,
as well as ''Nedeljni zabavnik'' ('Sunday Magazine'), 'Musical Notebook' and ''Tragom ptice Dodo'' ('On the Trail of the Dodo'), all for
TV Sarajevo. 'Fledgling' won a Grand Prix at the
Prix Jeunesse
Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...
International Festival in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
in 1980.
He spent his last fifteen years teaching English, writing and translating. In 2006, after 40 years of working with children, he joined the Children's Cultural Centre Belgrade, where he wrote and directed programmes, taught English and translated. He has written and published a self-portrait trilogy, ''"Pigs Do Not Eat Banana Skins"'', completed a collection of seven short stories under the title ''"The Golden Candlestick"'', and completed his official autobiography, ''"Warts and All"''.
His name is also associated with a park in the southern suburbs of
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
Banjica Forest, as during the late 1980s he campaigned for it to have special protection because of the large number of
nightingale
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...
s and other species of birds that nest in it. The wood is now an officially protected natural habitat and has its name changed officially to ''Byford's Forest'' in 2015.
On 1 April 2010, Byford celebrated the 50th year of his artistic career with the opening of his photograph exhibition, ''Joy in 100 Pictures'', consisting of photographs he took at the 'Joy of Europe' festivals in 2008 and 2009.
The same year, he appeared on screen as a cricket umpire in a television advert for Mivela water during the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. The ad featured players from the
Serbia national cricket team
The Serbian national cricket team is the team that represents Serbia in international cricket. It is governed by the Serbian Cricket Federation (also known as Kriket federacija Srbije) which became an affiliate member of the International Cric ...
and Serbian footballer
Radosav Petrović.
Pension issue
Byford moved to Belgrade, Serbia, former Yugoslavia in 1971 and as a foreigner he was not allowed to participate in the state's
pension fund
A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.
Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the major investors in listed and priva ...
system. Since his wife was from former Yugoslavia (now Serbia), he should inherit the citizenship right after a certain number of years spent in marriage. He received Serbian citizenship only at the age of 65 after intervention of Serbia's then president
Boris Tadić
Boris Tadić ( sr-cyr, Борис Тадић, ; born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012.
Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology ...
. It was too late to become a pension fund participant, since he would be at the age of 80 before he gains the right for a minimal pension.
On 1 January 2011, Serbian newspaper agency
Blic
''Blic'' (Cyrillic: Блиц, ) is a daily middle-market tabloid newspaper in Serbia. Founded in 1996, ''Blic'' is owned by Ringier Axel Springer Media AG, a joint venture between Ringier media corporation from Switzerland and Axel Springer AG ...
wrote an article about Mr. Byford being rejected for a national recognition award for his contribution and previous work (which effectively provides the right to a national pension), despite being nominated by several of his colleagues as described in an interview. Rejecting Mr. Byford's requests for the pension caused significant discontent among people who remember his work from their childhood. Two weeks later after the original article was published, Mr. Byford applied for and received a regular pension, giving him the right to apply for a National Pension.
In a later article Byford thanked many supporters who offered their help and started a petition on a
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
social network. As a result, Mr. Byford received several job offers, but many of them he had to turn down due to his specific health issues.
Mr. Byford eventually returned to
RTS
RTS may refer to:
Medicine
* Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim
* Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma
* Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...
as a consultant in the Children's Programmes Department. In January 2012 he received national recognition and was awarded a National Pension.
Death
In 2005 Byford was diagnosed with
multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...
, a type of cancer formed by malignant plasma cells. He died of the illness on 5 May 2014 in Belgrade.
Byford was cremated at the Belgrade's Novo Groblje cemetery on 12 May 2014. He was survived by his former wife Ljudmila "Mila" Stanojević; wife Zorica and three sons : Justin, Jovan, Andrej.
Bajford: "Pamtite me po pticama"
Danas.rs, 12.5.2014.
References
External links
Official website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byford, Timothy John
1941 births
2014 deaths
People from Salisbury
Serbian writers
English film directors
Serbian film directors
English television directors
Serbian television directors
Serbian translators
Serbian educators
Serbian people of English descent
Deaths from multiple myeloma
Deaths from cancer in Serbia
English emigrants
Immigrants to Yugoslavia
Naturalized citizens of Serbia
20th-century translators
20th-century Serbian educators
21st-century English writers
21st-century Serbian educators