Roy C Link - Sad News
Posted by John Clutterbuck on
Update 11th December 2020: If you wish to make a donation then please send a cheque (GBP only) made payable to Pritchard a Griffiths Donations Account to the funeral directors: Pritchard a Griffiths Cyf,
Dublin Street,
Tremadog,
Porthmadog,
Gwynedd
LL49 9RH
Donations will be shared between Narrow Gauge Railway Society, Series One Land Rover Club, Marie Curie Nurses and his local Cat/Animal Sanctuary. This account will remain open until April 1st 2021
It is with great sadness that I have to report that Roy C Link passed away on November 20th. He died of cancer, peacefully at home after a short period of palliative and end of life care, attended by his devoted wife Anjela of 50 years and adored daughter Hannah. I'm sure you will join us in thinking of them at this sad time.
His wish of donating his body to medical science has proved not possible due to the current crisis so he will be privately cremated, followed in due course by a small private ceremony by invitation only.
Roy was an extremely talented, kind and knowledgeable man with a great sense of humour, and his contribution to the railway world was immense. He was an artist, esteemed modeller and publisher and a great friend to many. Amongst his many other accomplishments, he pioneered finescale narrow gauge modelling in O14 through RCL Kits (now KB Scale) and was of course founder of the REVIEW and RCL Publications – some of the finest railway history books ever published.
Roy’s wish was that the REVIEW will continue which we will do as best we can. I had been assisting with editing under Roy's direction, but of course did not expect to have to assume control this quickly.
We intend to honour his legacy in REVIEW 125 and would welcome any personal recollections from those who knew him well - please send them to editorial [at] narrowgaugeandindustrial.co.uk. You are also welcome to leave comments either here or on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/narrowgaugeandindustrial.co.uk
John, Marion and David
My condolences to Roy’s family. Hopefully the magazine will continue for many decades. Just read Crowsnest Chronicles and really enjoyed it. Thanks to all at NG&IR.
This is sad news, and I can say it been a real privilege to have known Roy and consider him a friend. Lots of other people have commented whilst I thought about what to say beyond offering my condolences.
It was whilst distilling this I realise that I have been very fortunate to have undergone a sort of mini apprenticeship under Roy’s tutelage. With Roy living close to Porthmadog and me visiting regularly to drive on the FR nearly every trip included an evening with Roy. Its only now that I look back I realise that many visits also included some passing on of experience, methods of doing things, new skills and so on. I’ve spent evenings learning how to make parts on a pantograph, how to make injection moulding tools, lathe and mill work, micro silver soldering and ordinary soldering but with a hot plate.
Often this would happen when I turned up with something I had made which he encouraged, rarely criticised but then offered ideas on alternative methods of achieving the same or better result. As I developed my own modelling and the products of EDM Model if I got stuck a chat about it with Roy if not proposing a solution was always entertaining and led to a clarity of thought. Often a funny story or anecdote would illustrate the different way of thinking about or doing something. Who am I going to ask now?
RIP Roy
Sad news indeed. A much respected personality in my hobby circles and someone who’s publications have given me much pleasure over the years. What I will miss most is the chance enjoyable meetings and chats at the Welsh Highland Heritage railway, usually at our Porthmadog station and occasionally elsewhere on the site, such as when Chaloner visited after the run from Caernarvon and I bought the book. Kindest wishes to all his family and close friends.
As I finished reading The Crowsnest Chronicles a few weeks ago, I was looking for new articles in the Review about new projects he hinted at the end of the book.
Roy will be missed as both an excellent modeller, author and a great editor of the Review. I hope that the Review will continue for a long time as one of Roy’s legacy.
Condolences to his family and friends.
I last had email correspondence with Roy about 12 – 18 months ago, and found him then – as some of the posts on this page also noted – a very helpful and open individual. With his departure, I feel the hobby has lost another of its key ‘aspirational’ lights. By his stature and example, he was able to coax, guide and inspire ‘ordinary’ and ‘beginning’ NG modellers to follow in his footsteps – albeit haltingly, and imperfectly. Somewhere I still have a copy of his article upon building his ‘first’ Bagnall Execelsior 0-4-2 in On16.5, and which 30 years ago indirectly spawned a very poor pastiche of my own in OO9 out of plastic card, based upon a Joe Works chassis. However, behind the public face of the ‘modeller as artist’, Roy’s commercial output both as regards his kit design, die sinking, machining and patternmaking skills, and in the custom built models he made as private commissions – of which we only ever saw a teasing glimpse in the magazine over the years – he displayed a sound grasp of the engineering principles and skills that can lift a glass-case masterpiece model into one that can also run, stop and start silently again in reverse, all with the smoothness and silence of a Swiss watch. Truly the world of railway modelling has lost a giant (albeit a very gentle and kindly one), and we are all the poorer for it. Finally, through the aegis of this website, may I express my condolences to his family and loved ones.