John Roberts
2nd April 1939 18th May 2018
John Roberts was born in Salford on April 2, 1939. When John was only seven years old, his father died – partly from the effects of being gassed while fighting with the 2nd 6th Manchester regiment in the First World War.
This brought about a dramatic change in the family’s circumstances and led to his being offered a place at the Royal Masonic School for Boys in Bushey, Hertfordshire, a charitable boarding school for the sons of deceased Freemasons, which he was to attend until he turned 18.
The school was run along the very traditional lines of an English public school with a lot of emphasis on sport and the army cadet corps, neither of which interested John. As he progressed, however, his academic ability, together with his likeability and humour, became increasingly appreciated. His talents, together with hard work, culminated in his being awarded both a State Scholarship and an Exhibition to Keble College, Oxford. While maintaining very mixed feelings about the school as an institution, he made a number of firm friends there who he remained in close touch with throughout his life.
He was always interesting to be with, and could be relied on to put a humorous slant on life. More importantly, he could also be a very staunch friend in times of difficulty. One weakness though, was his inability to cope with traffic. He often told his friends why he had given up attempting to ride a bike in Oxford: whenever he was on a roundabout, he was petrified and had to ride full-circle several times before daring to exit onto the road he wanted.
John’s Oxford was not of the Brideshead Revisited variety. His background and innate thirst for knowledge ensured that his abilities would be put to good use – not only in his chosen subjects of German and French, but across a wide range of topics. His hard academic work, particularly in his last year, was rewarded with a well-deserved double first class degree. He went on to study the language of the ancient Burgundians as a postgraduate and spent a year teaching English at Munich University.
In 1965, John found a place teaching at Glasgow University where he specialised in mediaeval Germanic languages until taking early retirement in 1991. He was very involved in university life, making good friends at the university’s staff ‘College Club’. He married Diana, who he met through a friend at the university, and had two children – James and Peter.
John’s connection to Arran began in the 1970s when he visited the island with his brother and stayed at a cottage in Whiting Bay. Through this link, John and his family became regular visitors before moving to Arran in 1987.
John’s faith was important to him. Prior to moving to Arran, he was a regular visitor to the small Episcopalian church in Whiting Bay.
With a small congregation and no permanent priest, the church was and remains heavily reliant on its dedicated congregation and John committed fully to this. He took on the role of Lay Leadership, also representing the church at Diocesan Synod for some 30 years. He was good at keeping in touch with both regular visitors to St Margaret’s, and those who had left the island.
Language and linguistics remained key interests. In retirement, he learnt Gaelic to teaching standard and was a committed member of a number of Gaelic groups – most recently as treasurer of Na h-Arrainnich. He also maintained his love of German – continuing as an oral examiner in A-Level German, and teaching both evening classes and private tutees.
John was equally passionate about and committed to his many other interests. Over the years, he was heavily involved in many community groups on Arran including the Arran Civic Trust, Music Arran, and a local food bank.
Extremely well-read and known for his extensive (often obscure) knowledge, John was crowned the first and only Arran Mastermind by Magnus Magnusson at the 1989 Corrie Capers. He also overcame lifelong stage fright in his 60s, first performing in the Life of Christ at Brodick Castle; later performing at drama festivals both on the island and in Argyll.
John was also a very keen and adventurous cook. He and his sister-in-law developed a tradition of birthday feasts, taking turns to cook a meal on a challenging theme chosen by the other.
Over the years these covered a range of unusual ideas, taking significant planning and research - including Roman, Mongolian, Mediaeval Mesopotamian and Filipino menus.
Family was very important to John. He was a close, loving and supportive father to his two sons, James and Peter, delighting in sharing their lives, and was thrilled to have become a grandfather to Adam just over a year ago.
His funeral was held on July 2. The full church reflected the breadth of John’s life and the affection in which he was held. A collection raised £450 in aid of ArCaA. John’s family would like to express their thanks to everyone who came to the funeral or sent cards, to Rev Simon Mackenzie for performing the service, to Elizabeth Watson for making the church available and to all who helped at the church.
John is survived by his brother Bill and sister-inlaw Sandie, of Whiting Bay; his sons James and Peter; their partners Marie and Megan; and his grandson Adam.
He will be sorely missed by his family and many friends.