Rev Fr David Bingham passes away in England
SIBU: Mill Hill priest Rev Fr David Bingham, who had served in Sibu Diocese for nearly half a century, passed away in England last weekend.
He breathed his last at 8pm on Saturday ( England time) – approximately 4am on Sunday here – at the Herbert House in Freshfield, which is the Mill Hill retirement home. He was 86. Bingham had served his entire priestly vocation here, upon his arrival in 1965 after his priestly ordination.
He served in Selangau, Julau, Kanowit and Bintangor in the 1970s and 1980s, mingling well with the longhouse community.
The Catholics in Sibu Diocese remember him as a cheerful man, fondly calling him ‘Apai Bingham’.
‘Apai’, in Iban language, means ‘ father’.
The locals saw him as ‘a man with kindness, great love and humour’.
Bingham used to cycle around town – owing to his tall stature, the parishioners remember even Bingham’s bicycle was larger than the ordinary one.
After having spent nearly half a century here, the Englishman could speak fluent Iban and some words of Hokkien.
His death came as sad news for the Catholics here.
Last Nov 17, another Mill Hill priest Rev Fr William Bos also passed away in Missiehuis Vrijland, Oosterbeek in the Netherlands – his home country. He was 87. Bos served his entire priestly mission in Sibu, Song, Julau and Kanowit and like Bingham, he had easily immersed himself in the Iban culture and language.