Very sad news. Roy was an inspiration even to us voice only operators.
RIP G4SSH
73,
Rod
I have no words… Hard to believe!
Such a great SOTA operator that will be sorely missed. I used to love hearing that call in CW. Alas no more.
RIP Roy
73 Marc G0AZS
RIP Roy. dit dit.
2 Likes
Roy was never far from my thoughts each day since John’s last update. So sad to lose my old A Watch boss when I was part of his team at the old Wireless Station then known as CSOS Scarborough.
A distinctive callsign, note and fist sadly missed from the airwaves since he moved out of his Green Island QTH. RIP Roy…
Phil
10 Likes
Very sad news,
RIP Roy
Thanks for the sympathetic replies from all these people. Overwhelming!
Thanks also to Phil for putting that photo on. It’s one of the best and says it all. My wife knitted the pullover he’s wearing. It says ‘73’ in CW around the Morse key and I still have the graph paper design we made for it. At least there are plenty of happy memories!
73, John
2 Likes
Hello all
I want to pay my personal tribute to a great man. I first met Roy around 1979/80 time when we were out in Cyprus together. Roy at that time was the District Commissioner for the Scouts and his wife Margaret was the Cubs leader and as such we knew them very well through our children.
In 1982 we did a long technical course together at our work place. During that time we shared our interest in amateur radio and citizen band. I, like John G4YSS joined the Chairman network on CB which was led by Roy and we did an amateur radio special event together and throughout that time Roy shared his radio knowledge with so many people, encouraging them to go on the air. I did further tours of duty in Cyprus and Roy acted as my qsl manager for some of that time and of course he was very good at that too.
Roy also led the North Yorkshire Morse Testing Team which I was fortunate enough to join. He had a great knack of making nervous candidates feel comfortable before they sat the test. He later went on to become the RSGB Chief Morse Testing Examiner for the UK.
I was also very fortunate to be a member of The Scarborough Special Events Group for many years which Roy chaired. He had such great leadership skills and the ability to organise a complete event from getting the licence sorted out to implementing a shift rota for operators and for organising the production of excellent quality qsl cards and their distribution.
It was thanks to Roy that I got into SOTA chasing in 2010. We had a local net with Roy, Kevin G0NUP and myself on 145.400 MHz that we tip each other off when workable HF SOTA stations were active. John G4YSS would also call in regularly as he was out walking in our local area and I look back on those days with great fondness. I later became a SOTA activator and before the days of semi-reliable phone coverage, Roy would spot me on a frequency and telephone my xyl Eva when I was finished and likely to be home. Eva really appreciated those calls because often I would be activating hours away in the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales.
In recent years we had been to the rallies together with Dave G3TQQ and Pete M0HQO in Blackpool and Hornsea when Roy would spend minimal time looking at the stalls preferring to chat to fellow SOTA enthusiasts at the SOTA stand or around the hall. I remember one time he had to cut our conversation short because he was wanted for a photo opportunity at the WAB stand! Roy was a cw purist, his skill honed after many years serving as a Merchant Navy Radio Officer and his subsequent career. He encouraged many to learn cw and to use it on the air and he regularly gave useful advice through the SOTA forum and during the time he edited the SOTA News.
I will certainly miss him, a true friend and colleague.
My thoughts are with Chris, Heather and their families.
RIP Roy G4SSH
Nick G4OOE
9 Likes
I have long missed your callsign in my activations.
RIP Roy
Juan EA1AER
Very sad news. RIP Roy.
de Allan GW4VPX
Vale, Roy.
Hello all,
this year has been very bad indeed. I have never met Roy personally but I still remember his words when I visited UK and activated 2 SOTA’s, he told me he was very happy with my activations over there.
My deep condolences to entire family and to his friends and RIP Roy, we miss you.
Best 73.
CT1DRB/OK8RB
David Quental
Very, very sad news. Tnx for so often chasing me. RIP dr Roy.
Very sorry to hear this sad news. RIP
Jim G0CQK
Thanks for informing us John of this is very sad news.
Roy was very important to me because he gave me the impetus to stop putting off using CW on the air and to actually go out and have contacts. I owe Roy a lot for that as it completely changed my amateur radio hobby by making it so much more enjoyable and rewarding. Without him I’d still be practising and putting off the day of going live. I know he did the same for many SOTA activators and chasers.
Here is a picture of happier times at the Blackpool Rally in April 2018. The SOTA MT presented Roy with an old ex PO morse key to thank him for all his work putting the SOTA news together over the years and for encouraging everyone to try CW. (L-R Tom M1EYP, Roy G4SSH, Allan GW4VPX background Colin M1BUU). The key was probably 20 years older than Roy was.
I have lost two very important ham friends/mentors in the last few months, first Denis G3UVR and now Roy but I have a video taken from the Pfander OE/VB-512 were Denis is calling CQ SOTA and Roy replies so I can still hear my two friends fists at work.
Condolences to friends and family.
RIP Roy.
6 Likes
real sad news; RIP Roy
kurt HB9AFI
(918 times logged)
Sorry to hear that Roy G4SSH passed away yesterday on Christmas Day which is really sad and I believe that he sadly passed away from COVID19 also. It was always a pleasure to meet Roy a few times at the SOTA stand at Norbreck Rally. My thoughts are with Roy’s family.
Jimmy M0HGY
Such occasions are always sad, but exacerbated at this time and under these circumstances. RIP and my sincere condolences to his friends and family.
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