[1] Bird was born in 1934 in north London,[2] the second son of Eileen (née Darnell) and Jack Bird, a solicitors’ clerk.
[1] He served in the Merchant Navy, eventually becoming a first officer.
[1] Bird worked for J. Lyons and Co. from 1964 to 1991, initially as an operator of the LEO III computer.
[1][3] He also developed a secondary career, as a consultant on Lyons' history for television programmes, on some of which he appeared.
[1] The LEO Computers Society's 2016 book 'LEO Remembered' is dedicated to him.