Duckers & Diving: The Dirty Diggers

The Dirty Diggers might sound like some Antipodean sledging outfit getting ready for this summer’s Ashes encounter but as our fearless scribe discovers there’s more than one Digby in the West Midlands.

You might think that with Lord Jones of Birmingham bestriding the business scene there could only be room for one Digby in the West Midlands.

But you’d be wrong.

Step forward property guru David Smith, of Strata Real Estate.

He tells me: “You might not know but my ‘other’ name since the age of 10 has been ‘Digby’.

“As a junior school child in the mid-70s I had rather long scruffy hair – yes, you wouldn’t think that now!

“I moved schools in the fourth year Juniors – Year 6 in new money. On the register my name appeared as ‘D Smith’. One of my classmates, Shaun Brown-Bolton, asked me what the ‘D’ stood for, but before I could answer took a look at my dishevelled mane and said ‘Don’t tell me, it’s Digby isn’t it!’.

He was of course taking his lead from a certain popular film of the era, Digby The Biggest Dog in the World.

“Apparently I resembled the world famous scruffy mutt,” says Digby Dave.

“This nickname followed me to different schools, college, and then into work. Several friends can still only refer to me as Digby. In secondary school the vast majority of people couldn’t tell you my actual name – I was just Digby. And that included the teachers!

“The register was always called with a resounding Digby! At home the name found various permutations with my parents and sister and so David was consigned to history. Duckers and Diving

“It was therefore interesting when I started working in Brum in 2001 to learn that Digby was actually a real name. Also, it seemed that you had to be a lawyer to get the name. I’m referring of course to Digby Rose and Digby Jones, both of Edge & Ellison (now Squire Sanders).

“My only connection is a Law A Level (I did get a Grade B) and various Law papers sat in banking exams. Tenuous link, but it seems that all Digbys obtain legal qualifications in some fashion!”

Phew! Too many Digbys, me thinks.

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