Head of Lyons Computer Services, an early information service company in England, Bird rose to be a director of that organisation. He was born in 1934 in north London, the second son of Eileen (née Darnell) and Jack Bird, a solicitors' clerk. Bird served in the Merchant Navy, eventually becoming a first officer. He worked for J. Lyons and Co. from 1964 to 1991, initially as an operator of the LEO III computer.
From the late 1980s, Bird developed an interest in the history of computing at Lyons, and thus in the history of the company in general. This led to him writing two books, one on each topic. He also developed a secondary career as a consultant on Lyons' history for television programmes, on some of which he appeared.
The LEO Computers Society's 2016 book "LEO Remembered" is dedicated to him. In later years, Bird lived in Wokingham. He died on 16 August 2017, aged 82.
