"Bionic carrot" with a big heart

Chair of RADAR and long-time disability activist Phil Friend pays tribute to sportsman, photographer and friend Graham Bool

Photographer, sportsman, father, partner and friend, Graham Bool died suddenly at home on 17 September 2010. His memorial service held on 5 October was attended by over 350 people.

Born in Wales in 1948, Graham contracted polio at the age of 18 months and as a result had a lifelong mobility impairment.

His early education, like so many others of his generation, took place in a special boarding school in Surrey. At around the age of 14, after a considerable struggle, his mother managed to get him transferred to a local secondary school in Westminster, where he completed his education.

Graham’s first job was in the Civil Service (mainly licking envelopes!). Not content with this role he found work with Agfa-Gevaert, a photographic company, and very quickly became the manager of their Piccadilly branch. It was here that he really developed his love for photography and where he acquired his technical skills and detailed knowledge.

Graham married Frances in the late 1970s and had two children, Jessica and Roger, and they made their home in Great Saling, Essex. Graham and Fran became popular and valued members of the community. This was reflected in the kindness and support he and his children received when Fran died of cancer in 1993.

Aside from his children, Graham’s legacy primarily relates to disability sport, first as a competitor in wheelchair basketball in the UK. He played for the South London Aces, London Hawks and Lodge Moor during the 1960s and 70s. He was selected to play for Great Britain at the Paralympics in Heidelberg in 1972 and Toronto in 1976. During the Toronto Games he was nicknamed the “Bionic Carrot” because of his bright ginger hair and limitless enthusiasm and energy.

Once his playing career ended he focused on his freelance career and soon found ways of combining his love of disabled sport with photography. He was commissioned by Disability Now to provide pictures from sporting events as well as exhibitions including NAIDEX and the Mobility Roadshow. He was also a judge for the magazine’s photographic competitions. He became a fixture at major disability sports events across the UK, everything from the London Marathon to wheelchair table tennis. He covered every Paralympic Games from Barcelona 1992 to Beijing 2008.

Graham was a big man, with a big smile, a big handshake, a big moustache and a very big heart. He loved people and had boundless energy and enthusiasm for life. He had a photographic memory and a wonderful sense of humour and it was impossible to be with him without laughing.

He helped to put disabled sport on the map and along the way was an inspirational figure for many aspiring disabled athletes. He leaves behind a very big hole but some wonderful memories.