Bert Tilsley Herbert Harrison " Bert " Tilsley was the husband of Ivy Tilsley and father of Brian . Bert moved to Coronation Street with his wife and son in 1979 . Though a dedicated , hard - working man , Bert spent much of his time in the Street on the dole after being made redundant from Fosters ' Foundry . At home , Bert could usually be found playing peacemaker between Ivy and Brian , usually in matters involving Brian ' s girlfriend ( and later wife ) Gail Potter . Bert ' s later years were marked by declining health , including a minor stroke which cost him his job at Longshaw ' s Foundry which he had followed more than a year of unemployment . He died in 1984 after spending five months in a psychiatric hospital . Biography . 1935 - 1980 : The Tilsleys move in . Bert Tilsley was born on 8th June 1935 and married Ivy Nelson in 1956 . Despite their closeness Bert and Ivy only had one child , Brian , born in 1958 . By the 1970s , the Tilsleys lived a settled life in Weatherfield , with Bert working nights at Fosters ' Foundry and Ivy at the Mark Brittain Warehouse and later Baldwin ' s Casuals in Coronation Street . Bert and Ivy had a congenial marriage ; Ivy believed in the institution of marriage as she was a devout Catholic and loved Bert , while Bert , despite often bowing to the wishes of his strong - minded wife , knew how to bring out Ivy ' s softer side and could use that to get her to back down . One instance where Bert knew he was fighting a losing battle came in January 1979 when Ivy set her heart on buying 5 Coronation Street , across the Street from the factory . Bert was happy where they were but put in an offer of £7 , 000 on the house , which was accepted . At this time , Brian was twenty years old and was seeing Gail Potter . Bert knew that Brian needed his freedom but had to work to convince Ivy that Gail was the right woman for Brian ; Gail wasn ' t Catholic and had lost her virginity to a married man , Roy Thornley . When Ivy told Brian about Roy , Bert stepped in and helped Brian and Gail come to an understanding , but this caused a rift between Brian and Ivy and resulted in Brian moving out of No . 5 . The issue wasn ' t resolved until Bert and Gail each convinced their other halves that they should all live together at No . 5 - for cost reasons , if nothing else . Bert also shamed Ivy into begging for forgiveness for her selfishness . Brian and Gail married in November and Bert put a lock on their bedroom door so the couple could have privacy . The four got on surprisingly well under the same roof , although it was seen as a temporary arrangement and in April 1980 Bert angered Ivy by encouraging Brian and Gail to buy a £16 , 000 house - more than they could afford . Bert and Ivy also sought space and decided to go on holiday to Benidorm with Jack and Vera Duckworth , but Ivy gave their holiday money to Brian and Gail to pay a deposit on the house when they came up short . They eventually settled on Buxton Close and moved out in August that year , by which time Gail was pregnant . Bert ' s grandson Nick was born on 31st December . 1980 - 1982 : On the dole . At the end of the year , Bert was made redundant from Fosters ' as the factory was shut down . Bert signed on and started job hunting , but quickly realised his prospects weren ' t good - he was too skilled for labouring jobs and jobs within his trade were hard to come by , and his age also counted against him . In February 1981 , Bert was offered a three - month contract as a fitter in Holland , having looked into getting a job in a country where his employment prospects would be greater , but turned it down after deciding that he couldn ' t live away from Ivy . To spare Ivy ' s feelings , Bert told her that he hadn ' t got the job . The year was a difficult time for Bert . His only paid work included a brief stint at the Builder ' s Yard , delivering newspapers for The Kabin and decorating No . 1 , and to make matters worse his dole was cut in June , as he ' d been claiming for six months . He also had to cope with domestics at home as he made Brian see sense after falling out with Gail and , in May , convinced Jack Duckworth to face Vera when they were estranged , as she had dumped herself on Ivy in the meantime . In August , he applied for a job as a van driver for Baldwin ' s Casuals , but was turned down as Mike Baldwin was against employing couples . In September , Bert was investigated by the DSS for illicit earnings . This caused much friction in the Street - Bert had only not declared his earnings at Ivy ' s urging and blamed her for the investigation , and as Len and Ken both denied employing Bert , they were putting themselves at risk . Eventually Bert signed a statement admitting illicit earnings , deciding to face the truth and live with being stigmatised as a fraud . As Bert prepared for his court appearance , he continued applying for jobs and in January 1982 landed the perfect job - a fitter at Longshaw ' s Foundry - but he was due to appear in court on his first day . Rather than make an excuse to his bosses , Bert told the truth , and was relieved when they admired his honesty and kept him on . In court , Bert was fined £90 and was required to repay £200 dole money - but at least he was working again . 1982 - 1984 : Death . Ultimately , Bert would be working for less than a year . In December , he broke his arm at work and took sick leave to recover . In March 1983 , he saw a doctor and a specialist over his arm and was informed that he might have had a mini stroke , and could have a stroke at any time . A result of this was that he could never work with machinery again , and consequently there was little to no work available for him . Brian let him help out by sweeping up at his garage , but while Brian was away Bert , desperate for more important work , tried to make himself useful by blowing up a tyre . When he did so , the gas pressure exploded and Bert was knocked out . Rushed to hospital with head and chest injuries , Bert was put on a life support machine and fell into a coma . When he awoke , Bert was confused but returned home , only to disappear days later while babysitting Nicky . Bert later turned up in Bristol , where he was arrested for loitering in a shopping precinct and later admitted to hospital before Ivy was informed of his whereabouts . His condition was serious - he failed to recognise Ivy and was later moved to a psychiatric hospital , where he died in January 1984 . Ivy was with Bert when he died . Quotes . " Aye . " ( First line ) " Yeah I will in a bit love , I think I ' ll just have a little doze . " ( Final line )