OBITUARIES
He married Helen ( née Waltham ) in 1980 , happily settling down in Cheltenham where their son , Tom , was born . Helen , sadly passed away in December 2017 .
One of Robert ’ s passions outside of his family , contemporary music and the arts was fishing . He went fishing all over the UK also in Europe , India and Mongolia . His favourite river was the river Wye not just for the fish but also for its beauty and tranquillity . Robert illustrated several fishing books , wrote and published his own books including “ Tom ’ s Book ” and “ Waterlust ”. In these books he successfully wrote not only about the adventures and tales of his fishing trips , but he also reflected on life , music , culture and society making the read very enjoyable for not only people interested in fishing but also for those who are not . He is sadly missed .
( Richard Olsen 65-71 )
Eric Sydney Room ( 36-44 ) was born in East Cottingwith in 1926 , Eric was local boy who became a student at Pocklington School in 1936 . He loved sport but cricket was his passion and he became school First XI Cricket Captain for 1943-44 .
He gained a place at St John ’ s College , Cambridge in 1944 . However National Service intervened , and he spent two years in the Royal Navy , before taking up his place one term late in January 1947 . Part of the College 1949-50 Hockey team , Eric graduated with a Classics honours degree and spent his working life in education .
He started work as Classics master and master of Cricket at Tettenhall College in Wolverhampton where he met his wife Patricia . They moved to Wrexham and Eric worked firstly at Grove Park Grammar School and later Yale Sixth Form College . Alongside his working life , and during retirement , Eric also devoted many hours to charity work , in particular as Chairman of the Wrexham & District Handicapped Children ’ s Society .
Eric was a loving father to three daughters and , subsequently , grandfather to four grandchildren . A proud Yorkshireman , Eric ’ s other lifelong interests , after cricket ( and in particular Yorkshire cricket ), included golf and gardening . He is remembered , by family and friends , as a true gentleman with a great sense of humour .
( Katherine Haigh )
Roger Shaw ( 52-62 ) was noted for two things whilst at school : his sporting prowess and his musical ability .
His record for the U15 100 yards sprint stood for many years and he played first team cricket and rugby . He sang in the choir and , occasionally , played the piano for the hymn in morning assembly . He went on from school to Bede College , Durham , where he took the three-year Certificate in Education to qualify as a primary school teacher . On graduating , he returned to Beverley and over the next 20 years taught at schools in Kirkella , Swinemoor and Leconfield before being appointed Head of Lockington School . While there , he was seconded by the county to a short-term advisory role . He took early retirement in 1994 but continued to work until 2005 as Administrator of Beverley Minster . Among the diverse tasks associated with this role was running the Minster shop .
He was a life-long , active member of the Minster congregation and played the organ regularly for services in the daughter churches of Woodmansey , Routh and Molescroft . He was also a member of Beverley Golf Club for over 50 years , for most of that time playing off a single figure handicap and winning numerous competitions and prizes . He participated in the Pocklingtonian Golf Day on several occasions . He was held in warm affection by all who knew him , and his network of acquaintances around the town was legendary . It was a family joke that if Roger didn ’ t know someone in Beverley , it made their existence doubtful . He could be relied on for a joke or a quick quip , sometimes outrageous as well as funny , but underneath the humour was a kind and caring man . He is survived by Joyce , his wife of over 50 years , his two daughters , Philippa and Emma , and three grandchildren .
( Peter 52-62 and Jeremy Shaw 54-64 )
Pavlik Thompson ( 56-64 ), also known as Paul Thompson , was a pupil at Pocklington School from 1956 to 1964 . One of his fellow-musicians remembers Pavlik as a 17-year-old pianist who , at a school concert in the Assembly Hall , kicked over the piano stool . “ Pavlik , still standing , truly gave the piano a good bashing . The audience cheered , shouted and stamped their feet .”
Another friend recalls : “ There were no bigger personalities than his , so multi-talented , a natural rebel always challenging the conventions and orthodoxy . He brought colour and noise to our humdrum lives .”
Nearly forty years later , I met Pavlik for the first time since school . He was sharing with his beloved mother a house in York and working at the public library in Goole . The affection that most of his library colleagues felt for him is evident . Several of them were writing long personal letters to him sixteen years after he retired .
I shall always be grateful for the close friendship that Pavlik and I had for the last 22 years of his life .
He was a perfectionist , but only in the matters that he cared about . Having worked night shifts at Rowntree ’ s in his twenties , he suffered from insomnia for the rest of his life . Sleep and career were less important to him than making the time to pursue his wide-ranging cultural interests . He kept up to date with the most recent books and films . He collected and studied those parts of popular music from 1953 to 1973 that he admired . He gave lavish gifts , generously and thoughtfully matching his own tastes and strong opinions with what he felt each different friend or relative might enjoy . The Bloomsbury group ? The Comedian Harmonists ? Dirk Bogarde ? Early Elvis Presley ? Victoria de los Ángeles ? How knowledgeable Pavlik was , and how he shared his knowledge with others !
I don ’ t think he ever left Yorkshire in the last twenty years of his life . He disliked many aspects of the present day , and looked back longingly to the interwar years , or to his happy primary school years in Cottingham .
He was a heavy smoker and suffered more than fifteen years of seriously declining health . Born on 15th July 1947 , he died on 17th November 2024 , aged 77 . His much-loved sister Nata died at 53 , and her children are Pavlik ’ s closest living relatives : Tamara , Matthew and Helena .
Pavlik ’ s father was a senior lecturer at the University of Hull and a vicar in the Church of England . His mother came to England from Russia in the 1920s , becoming a Gymnastics teacher , and later a member of York ’ s Russian Orthodox congregation .
( Tony Spreckley 57-64 )
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