My deepest condolences to Roy’s family and friends. As you said, John, we were all dreading that this might happen. No day is a good day to die but for this to happen on Christmas day of all days is terrible.
RIP & Vale Roy G4SSH.
73 Ed DD5LP/G8GLM.
Very well said Nick, Phil and others. When I got involved in SOTA in 2012, like others have said, no activation was complete without hearing the familiar di di dit di di dit di di di dit.
Sadly missed, RIP Roy SK e e
Victor GI4ONL
Very sorry to hear this news. Condolences to Roy’s family and friends. We’ve lost too many SOTA friends this year.
John EI3KA
So sorry to hear the sad news of Roy’s passing my condolences to the family.
Don G0RQL.
Being 84 years old and an advanced Parkinson’s patient, this sad outcome after having got Covid-19 is something I was, in some way, fearing. It’s a deep sad news for all of us but, after reading all these comments and great memories from so many here, it’s clear that this has been the end of a long, very rich, extremely helpful and valuable life.
What else could someone wish than living a full, enriching, helpful to others life and being thanked, remembered and missed by so many, no doubt by all of us?
I want to express my big respect for all the good Roy made to so many of us.
Thanks Roy for being so kind, for being 103 times in my log, for being so many times ready to be my first chaser, even before I was spotted. Thanks for your nicely written and in due course published SOTA news.
THANK YOU and now Rest In Peace, Roy.
My deep condolences to his family and friends, particularly John @G4YSS.
73,
Guru
7 Likes
Very sad news. I liked Roy a lot, and will very much miss him in all four contexts - on-air, online, in person at rallies, and as the person behind several very attractive SSEG QSL cards in my collection.
Roy had already sent me several of these in return for SWL reports in the years before I was licensed. Subsequently I collected some more with a specific SOTA theme resulting from QSOs with John @G4YSS’s activations using GX0OOO/P.
I mentioned Roy’s inspiring words to me the day I first tried activating with CW. Here are those words from back in May 2007. Roy certainly had the knack of inspiring people to continue and progress with their morse!
Roy must have had the best suffix for breaking the biggest pile-ups! I remrmber I could pick out that “SSH” even in those monstrous SOTA / WFF pile-ups back in 2011!
R.I.P. Roy - and thank you.
3 Likes
Many thanks for letting us know John. So sad to hear of Roy’s passing. Gone, but he will not be forgotten. I remember the pleasure of getting him in the log and it was a real pleasure to meet him in person. My condolences to his family and friends.
Gerald G4OIG / G8CXK
That news makes me very sad.
Gerald
Roy was one of my most regular chasers in my early days of SOTA, before RBN-hole. He must have been lurking on 10.118 for hours. Very often he was my first chaser of the day and always following with a SOTAWatch spot. Roy is more than 500 times in my log!
Thanks for this effort and all the support for us activators, RIP, Roy!
Heinz, OE5EEP
Very sad news 
Rest In Piece Roy.
73, Jarek
What a pity! I will miss him.
As others said, very distinctive call, that I could pick easily on my early SOTA/ CW days…
We should remember his good operating practice and transmit to others. We all need good advices to make radio qso more enjoyable…
Rest in peace, dear Roy, a real gentlemen and morse master.
73 de Ignacio
1 Like
It is a very big personal shock when you hear this sort of news. I have great respect for the man. Another big loss. My sincere condolences to his family.
Regards
David
G0EVV
1 Like
Looking back through my log, I see that Roy worked me on only my second activation, and first solo activation, almost exactly 6 years ago on 09/12/2014. He appears regularly until 22/01/2019. Unfortunately, I never knew Roy personally, I can only say tu fr QSOs, RIP Roy.
73 de OE6FEG
Matt
I’ve been reminiscing through my log as well.
Roy worked me on my activations 185 times. The first time was 15 May 2007 when I was on The Cloud G/SP-015, a QSO on 40m CW with Roy operating as G4SSH/A from Cornwall. The last was 27 June 2018, when I activated Kit Hill G/DC-005 on 20m CW.
Roy is in many of my “holiday logs” - when I was activating in GI, GM or EA8. He is, of course, in the log when I did El Teide 3715m ASL, EA8/TF-001 on Tenerife.
What is strikingly noticeable is that the mode only ever says ‘CW’ in Roy’s chaser log. I was witness to him making a contact on 2m FM with Richard G3CWI/P (who was on Blencathra G/LD-008) from the SOTA stand at Norbreck on 6th April 2009. I remember well Richard’s shock at being called by Roy on fone, as well as Roy’s steadfast refusal to even consider logging the FM chase into his SOTA chaser log!
2 Likes
I do not have so many but I have his in my log of my first CW activation on August 20, 2016 and then very often until February 16, 2019.
I also remember very well our discussion about Roy on May 5th, 2018 with Nick G4OOE and his company came to OK SOTA when they told that Roy is going to quit his chasing.
Many of us remain with good memory of him.
Very interesting postings these, in recgnition of Roy and his achievments. Roy was very active on the bands before SOTA as well - as a DXer and one who used to partake in the occasional CW Contest. I recorded my first QSO with Roy on 01/04/1990 (April Fools Day) on 80m CW , three years before I met him in person in my job!
At the time of that QSO I was GM4OBK and living near Stranraer I guess this QSO was in the RSGB 80m band ROPOCO Contest, as I recorded his postcode as YO12 4RN according to my log and it was early on a Sunday Morning when the contest used to take place.
Another interesting fact about Roy which he once recounted to me on 2m FM as I was travelling to work in Scarborough by car - he never left his house in the morning to get a haircut (he was always well groomed). He always went in the mid-afternoon after the EU CW SOTA activity had fallen away by then!
73 Phil
1 Like
Very sad new and a big loss to the radio community.
R.I.P. dear Roy
Fritz HB9CSA/DL4FDM
So very sorry to hear this sad news. Our thoughts are with Heather and Chris and their families. Rest in peace Roy.
73
Karen & Neil (2E0XYL & 2E0TDX)
So very sorry to read the sad loss of Roy to the SOTA community.
Condolences to his family from me and Helen.
Sad news. Will miss those S-S-H on the air. I was always amazed how well Roy could copy my signal and he was usually first or second chaser I heard when I was activating from France.
73, Jaakko ac1bb/oh7bf