Best wishes to Roy, We’ll be pulling for you.
73
John, K6YK
Best wishes to Roy, from this side of the pond. Especially from those ops of a certain age.
Hang in there, and plan to do your social distancing for awhile via the radio.
All Best, Ken K6HPX
Hi John,
I will strongly keep fingers crossed for Roy.
Please pass the best wishes to him.
We all wait for his come back to us.
73, Jarek
I’ve enjoyed reading through these many posts since mine of earlier on in the thread. They reminded me of Roy’s incredibly kind and motivating post just minutes after I had conducted my very first (10wpm) CW activation back in 2007. His warm words and encouragement were inspiring enough, but when those words come from a man as steeped in CW as Roy, indeed a professional CW op in his career, they mean everything.
It is clear that Roy has encouraged and inspired many many more of us to enjoy operating on CW in SOTA, and it is therefore no surprise that he has the best wishes of the whole SOTA community.
Fingers crossed for his recovery.
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I hope he makes it. To show how beloved he is among activators, DF3MC told me 9 years ago that he never leaves a summit until he works SSH.
Elliott, K6EL
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I am sure that we all CW activator miss him and hope the best for Roy.
May the CW force be with him.
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John,
Please pass on my best wishes to Roy for a speedy recovery.
73’s
David
G4ZAO
Sad news and I hope you recover soon and much encouragement Roy
Daniel
I am really sad to hear the news about Roy. I hope that he makes a rapid and full recovery from the virus. Along with the others, please pass on my best wishes when you get the opportunity John.
Gerald
I follow Gerald in asking John to pass Roy my best wishes for a full recovery. For so many of the Sota community he is a great inspiration to send good Morse from mountain tops. I have always appreciated his chaser technique of “tuning off” and being so easy to read.
This is just another mountain to climb.
Regards
David
G0EVV
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I am sorry to hear about Roy. Such a kind man. I have very nice memories of Roy. Years ago I went to his house once where he proudly showed his collection of keyers. I hope he gets better!
Frans, PAoINA
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All the best to Roy. I hope that he will be well again soon. I have fond memories of him when I started my Sota activities. I was surprised that I haven’t heard from him for a long time.
My best wishes to Roy!
Paul DL6FBK
Hi John,
Very sorry to hear Roy has succumbed, thanks for letting us know and please pass him my wishes for a fast and complete recovery. Do hope you manage to get him set up so that he can operate again when this wretched disease allows.
Kindest regards and 73
Paul G4MD
best regards roy hope you feel better soon Ray gm7nzi
Hello Roy,
my best wishes from Tyrol/Austria for your soon recover.
And all good hopes to overcome illness.
John OE7PHI
+
Best wishes to Roy from down under, many of us remember his callsign as one of the regular chasers when we first started to be active in SOTA. Activations at the right time of day seemed always to attract calls from Roy. So, may he win over this wretched virus and return to his normal life as soon as possible.
73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH
Hello all, did not know that Roy is in troubles, my wishes of fast recovery and pass him my best regards, from CT1DRB/OK8RB David Quental
Roy G4SSH-SK.
Passed Away Christmas Day 25-12-20.
Thanks to everyone for their responses here and to the many SOTA members and non-members who have known Roy over the years and who might come across this thread.
It’s a terrible thing to have to report that Roy, my dear friend of 37 years and loved by so many in Amateur Radio, passed away on the afternoon of Christmas Day of all days. He was 84. Roy’s son Chris phoned this morning with the message we were all dreading.
The day after our final brief conversation on the 19th, Roy became unconscious, remaining so until the end. It’s a blessing that he would have known nothing about it and rather fitting that some of his final words to the outside World were ‘did-dit’ and ‘73.’ We can also be thankful that he didn’t linger with weeks of illness, distress and discomfort.
Your sympathetic words above really sum it up in describing Roy. ‘Encouraging, helpful, motivational, patient, the right words, warm words, log incomplete without an SSH entry’ etc etc. It’s true; he did help so many along the way in the radio hobby not least myself, in teaching me CW from scratch and in so may other ways. After a career as ship’s op in Shell Tankers and other ‘floating shacks’ and the UK’s chief Morse examiner for 10 years, he was eminently qualified to do so.
SOTA gained an exceptional CW operator the day that Roy decided he’d gone as far as he possibly could in the many variations of DXCC (including a QRP one) gained from his modest set-up from a small bungalow plot and ground mounted vertical. What his station lacked in performance was more than made up for in technique and skill. Roy was an essential asset to me, and many other activators in his ability to ‘find and spot’ early.
Down at the post office on the first minute of the first day that ‘legal’ CB licences were issued, he was the same on CB radio too, running The Chairman Network every evening around Scarborough on channel 17-FM. He would give advice and loan equipment there too, even sending around a monthly news-letter and was very much looked up to.
An idea of Roy’s, the Scarborough Special Event Group gave a lot of pleasure and enjoyment over the years as avid collectors of a series of colourful QSL cards will testify. It also taught several youngsters how to run a GB station and handle a pile-up, some of which were massive.
As I walk past Roy’s QTH, 200m up the road from my house, I see his Butternut vertical, knowing that I will be the one who’ll be taking it down for the final time; a job I’m really not looking forward to.
I could write a lot more about Roy, all good and I don’t know what will happen about the funeral in the current situation. That is made all the more difficult with his family living away. I do know it will be minimalist with a further ceremony pencilled-in for the summer or whenever we get out of this dreadful situation we’re all in. I know many reading this will have been touched in some bad way by this appalling pandemic and I’m sorry to have to add to it here.
Many thanks for all the love and respect you’ve shown towards Roy now and over the years. He’s now in what we call ‘a better place’. Our thoughts are with his family now.
Stay safe!
73, John
G4YSS/ (GX0OOO/P)
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Best wishes to Roy,
I wish him the best.
73 de Michael
DC8YZ
Sorry to hear this news !
Roy will be sadly missed !
RIP
Graham G3OHC