Andrew Birkbeck (Andy)

Andrew unexpectedly passed away at his family home the afternoon of the 23^rd of October 2021, aged 53 surrounded by his loving family.  

He was a devoted and beloved father to 4 children Richard, Matthew, Aimee & Fae. He bore these children to his soul mate, wife and centre of his universe Heather whom he’d been married to for 36 happy fulfilling years.

Besides being a strong family man and rock for the Birkbeck household, Andrew also was engrained in the fabric and culture of his job at ENW where he served his time as an apprentice linesman all the way up to senior protection engineer, the 36 years he spent at ENW were formative in creating the man that many people come to respect and cherish.   

However, when he was not working his greatest love was to explore France, from the pale silver beaches of Bray-Dunes all the way down to Toulouse and beyond Andrew loved to immerse himself in the culture, dialect and most importantly the food (especially a cheeky Tarte aux Fraises or two) that France had to offer.

Andrew’s memory will be cherished and remembered for generations to come as the strong, pensive and somewhat mischievous man he was, he will be missed immeasurably by his friend’s, children and wife. 

Love Ya dad.

The family would respect that no flowers are brought on the day of the funeral. But instead a donation can be made to British heart foundation and cancer research UK via the donate button below.

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MESSAGES for the family of Andrew Birkbeck (Andy)

 

Winnie and John

To Heather and the children we are sending our message of love to you all’s Andrew was a rock and will be greatly missed. All our love Winnie and John.

 

Janet Jones

Andy was a pleasure to work with and will be sadly missed. You are all in my thoughts and prayers x

 

Sam, Simon and Ben

Sleep now. You will be missed, Love, Sam, Simon and Ben xxx

 

Gary Nichols

I am so sorry for your loss. Andy was a good friend and work colleague for over 30 years. He will be sadly missed.

 

Rob Forrest

Andy will be missed by everyone who knew him in different ways. Personally, I’ll miss “chewing the fat” with a good friend which was mixed with memories, laughter and a lot of “do you remember when”…. A friend who will be sorely missed but forever remembered.

 

Matt Hornby

Andy was a top bloke and a great Engineer! He will be greatly missed! Thoughts are with all the family at this sad time!

 

Erica (Ezzy) Fielding

Uncle Andy will forever live on in our memories. We were all privileged to have him in our lives for the time we had together. Deeply regret I didn’t see him as much in his later years but I will always and forever cherish the time I had with him growing up and beyond. Will love and miss him deeply. Night God Bless Andy, till we meet again xx

 

Roger Sumner

It has been an honour to work with such a kind, honest and helpful colleague. I had many chats with Andy about family and holidays and upcoming weddings and cycling along the coast at Lytham and I could see how much you all meant to him and I know how much he meant to you all. There will always be a hole in our team here at work but I know his memory will be cherished by us all. I impart my deepest sympathy and wish you all good luck for the future.

 

Carol Caddell

Such a lovely person, Andy always lifted your spirits with his never ending smile. Thoughts and prayers Heather and children.

 

Joanne Williams & Steve Mottershead

Andy will be sadly missed he was always happy to have a chat and a laugh. Steve was an apprentice with Andy so has known him for many years gone too soon so sorry for your loss.

 

Tim Watson

It was both a honour and a privilege to work with Andy and my heart goes out to you all xxx

 

Rajeev Sood

Dear Heather and family, Andy and my paths crossed occasionally at ENW when Andy visited Cumbria for operational work. Always good to meet and speak with him: My sincere condolences. RIP Andy.

 

Mick Riley

Andy was always friendly and down to earth with the security lads at ENW. He was the first to nip in and see how things were going when I first started there and would often have a quick chat in the lonely hours. It was a pleasure knowing him.

 

James Collett

I first crossed paths with Andy during my grad scheme at ENW. I was on placement in Blackburn for a few months with his team. Andy took care of the maintenance work in the Blackpool area at that time. A year or so later, after completing the graduate programme, I was back in Blackburn in my first permanent position. Andy took me under his wing and played a big part in training me for electrical authorisation at 11kV. We were both also involved in the “retvac” programme, and over time developed a good friendship. Andy always looked for opportunities to develop and invest in others, and his influence has shaped numerous people’s careers. He had meticulous attention to detail. If you asked him to check & sign a switching programme, you knew it had to be perfect! I remember his calligraphy-style handwriting and shall smile and remember him whenever I see it in substation log books across the North West. He will be sorely missed.

 

Ricky Birkbeck

I’m sat outside your work now at Whitebirk just thinking what to write. Listening to an assortment of Faith no More, Soundgarden, Bush, Incubus and Audioslave. Looking at all the vans reminded me of when you and Rob would take us to school as kids in the old Land Rover Defender. I’ll never forget that distinct odour of cow muck, oil and diesel. I’ve tried finding the same air freshener at Halfords this week to no avail. I’ve found it really hard to pick my best memories with you. It’s hard to condense a life of such love and fulfilment into a few paragraphs. Whenever I’m down or doubting myself I always repeat the same line in my head. ‘Look where you’re going, not where you’ve been!’ You shouted this to me as a kid when I rode my bike into a lamp post. I didn’t realise what good stead this phrase would stand me in through life. You were always full of such great advice. Get smart or stay dumb. Me and Matty always called you Andrew growing up. I like to think this was down to the friendship we formed. You weren’t just our dad. You were our best friend. You’d take us to Pleasington fields with a Mitre footy on a weekend and we’d take turns seeing who could volley it the highest. Then one of us would spoon it into the car park and you’d have to run and get it only for one of us to spoon it the other way into the river straight afterwards. You never gave up; on anything. You taught us never to give up. I’ve always admired your articulate choice of words and writing style. Very recently I had gotten a speeding ticket in one of the company vans and the police had addressed it to the wrong Mr. Birkbeck; resulting in you getting a notice of intended prosecution through the post. You rang me and expressed how unimpressed you were and took great offence to how poorly presented the letter was and how it was littered with grammatical errors. You told me you were going to respond to them with your own letter. In your words ‘I just want to highlight their nugatory approach, tardiness and detail. I’ll attach a letter with the notice and send you a copy.’ I expected nothing less. What I didn’t expect was a letter of apology from the Chief addressed to Mr Andrew Birkbeck who had not only squeezed an apology out of Cymru Police but had also unwittingly gotten a speeding ticket squashed for me and saved points on my license as they offered to take no further action! A small victory dad! One of those ENW Hilux has just rolled into the yard. They’re pants compared to the old Defenders dad. It looked like it smelled nice too. Not for us. Anyway, I’m talking a glass eye to sleep and this fella at security has just turned the lights off and closed the gate. He’s probably wondering why there’s a lad outside in a bob hat listening to loud rock music, crying and laughing at the same time. There’s not a soul in this galaxy I look up to more than you paps. You taught me never to give up. You taught me to see things through. You taught me that resilience through adversity pays dividends. You taught us all to be loving but tough.  You showed us all that there is light to be found in the dark. You taught us that there is always someone worse off. You came from nothing and gave us all something. Me and Matty will look after Mum, Aimee and Fae. ‘It’s about the journey, not the destination.’ Lots of love cool rockin daddy, Ricky man x

 

Aimee Birkbeck

I can not choose a single memory that captures the amount of amazing times me and my dad created together. He would often show me his maths books and try to explain his equations. The cleverest person I knew, with vast amounts of knowledge and skills no one else could ever have. A single look at a past photo and my dad could tell you, exactly where it had been taken and the date and time too. He’s very specific answers were very detailed, with structure and explanations that lasted the whole night through. Memories last a life time and they will never fade I’ll miss you now and every day, keep shining bright in heaven so you can light the way

 

Faé Birkbeck

I can’t write down all the memories we shared together, but going on trips was the best. We had driven all over France and Italy together with mum and had the best time. Shine bright in heaven, Love you.

 

Heather Birkbeck

My husband Andrew was a true gentleman, and I was lucky to have him in my life for close to 39 years. In that time he achieved so many things, his long service for Electricity North West where many a night he would be sat in the lounge on his laptop checking his programs amongst the hustle and bustle of the family going on around him; it amazed me all the knowledge he had and his attention to detail. To his family he was the go-to person he would do anything to help the biggest accomplishment of his life his children Richard, Matthew, Aimée and Faé, who he loved dearly and would do anything for. For me I was his soul mate, and I was as proud of him as he was proud of us all, I know in my heart he is looking down and watching us all at this sad time and as we move forward he will be guiding us all in the right direction as he always did.