Bob Wilde was a publican, president at the local footy club president, POW in the Second World War, part time illegal bookie, and the best man at three weddings.

With some unlucky punting and large gambling debt, Bob voluntarily enlisted in WWII. Early on, the ship he was sailing on was bombed and sank. Bob was declared missing in action and presumed dead until he was registered as a prisoner of war in the infamous Stalag V111 B, Lamsdorf where he spent the next five years being transported to other POW camps in Poland and Germany.

Returning from war Bob became a publican at the Picola Hotel where he would take illegal bets from his coat jacket. The operation ended when he caught one of the locals robbing his betting stash in the middle of the night; a fight ensued and the money was stolen.

He was the president of the Picola Football and Netball Club, where he helped local Indigenous players travel to the grounds and get footy boots so they could play.