Obituary: Rolly York, educational psychologist and Scottish am dram legend

Roland York, educational psychologist. Born: 23 September 1925 in Hawarden, Flintshire. Died: 2 April 2020 in Edinburgh, aged 94.

Rolly York in Pirates of Penzance in 1994

Rolly York was born to George and Gwendolen York. At three, the family, moved to Handbridge in Chester. Rolly attended the local Church of England primary school where he won a scholarship to the King’s School in Chester. He was always more interested in sport, scouts and, later, the cadet corps than in academic subjects.

Rolly left school in 1943 and gained a place on a six-month course for potential Royal Artillery officers. He headed off to Aberdeen University for the introductory course hardly knowing where the city was! He had military training with the University Corps and after basic army training was sent to the Royal Artillery training regiment in Yorkshire.

Just before Rolly was due to be sent abroad, he heard that his mother had died of breast cancer. It was very hard for a 19-year-old to leave his widowed father in wartime. The cadets left Liverpool on a troopship having to sleep below decks on hammocks to cross a very stormy Bay of Biscay in a convoy which was trying to avoid U-boats. Eventually they reached the Suez Canal where they were moved up a deck to proper bunks before they set sail for Bombay.

The time Rolly spent in India had a profound effect of the rest of his life, not least by introducing him to curry and giving him the chance to appear on stage in a jungle camp, just like in TV’s It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. Progression through the officer ranks led to Rolly becoming a Captain at 21, seconded to the Indian Artillery. Being able to have leave in some of the most beautiful parts of India, such as Kashmir and Ootacamund, left a deep impression on Rolly.

Rolly always said he never fired a gun in anger, though it must have been a near thing when he was posted with his troop to the North-West Frontier just before Indian partition. After being demobbed in 1947, Rolly returned to Aberdeen University. Returning to studying after life in the army was not easy but it led to another very important part of his life. As there had been at school, there was always room for sport, initially football and later squash. Plus, he was part of the Students’ Representative Council, then the Union Management Committee, as well as having the Kirkgate Bar as a second home! He also became involved with student shows which raised money for charity.

Somehow Rolly managed to graduate with a BSc in Geography but student life so suited him that he decided to study for a Diploma in Education and become a teacher. He went on to do a second year, which led to the B.Ed degree. He got a teaching post at the nearby Powis Junior Secondary School which allowed him to attend university lectures after school and on Saturdays, all the time keeping up with student shows, sport and running the successful Rectorial campaign for Jimmy Edwards.

Another new avenue opened up when Rolly was invited to audition for a relatively new musical theatre company in Aberdeen, The Lyric Opera Company. He went on to appear in several productions; perhaps the most memorable was The Arcadians in which Rolly had to descend from the flies in the basket of a hot air balloon. He also appeared in university dramas.

Rolly decided to leave teaching and apply for posts as an educational psychologist. Unsuccessful in finding a job in Aberdeen, he decided to move to Edinburgh. So, early in 1958, he was appointed an Assistant Psychologist with the Education Department’s Child Guidance Service, based at Merchiston Park.

It didn’t take long for Rolly to get into the music and drama scene in Edinburgh. He joined Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group (Grads) and was soon performing on The Fringe in a play called The Adam Comedy. Over the years, Rolly appeared in approximately 75 different productions with the group, ranging from revue to pantos and such classics as The Cherry Orchard and The Importance of Being Earnest.

Having appeared in musicals in Aberdeen, Rolly looked for an Edinburgh company and he soon appeared in The Merry Widow and a couple of other shows with The Southern Light Opera Company.

At work Rolly was offered a new post as a Senior Psychologist organising the work of the Child Guidance Service in The Borders. He visited the schools twice a week, spending lunchtime sitting in his car, learning the lines for which ever production was ongoing.

After singing the role of Falstaff in Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor with the University Opera Company, Rolly was approached by a young man, Robert Heath, who wanted to start a University Gilbert & Sullivan Society, using graduates in principal roles, with a student chorus.

Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group (EUSOG) took to the stage of the Little Theatre (now the Pleasance Theatre) in 1962,with a production of The Mikado in which Rolly played Pooh Bah, the first of many G&S baritone roles. The production was such a success that the company moved to Leith Town Hall (now Leith Theatre) the following year.

The 1964 production of HMS Pinafore brought another major change to Rolly’s life. One of the backstage crew was a student called Mickey McMath. Somehow Captain Corcoran and a lowly stage hand found themselves opening bottles of champagne at the after-show party, and the rest, as they say, is history. They were married in 1965, all the while maintaining their connections with EUSOG and EGTG, which Mickey had also joined. The York family grew to include first, Alison, and then David.

At work, the Child Guidance Service was expanded to become Special Educational Services and an old colleague, Peter Priestley, returned to Edinburgh to become Principal Educational Psychologist, with Leslie Thomson and Rolly becoming Deputies. By all accounts this trio became a force to be reckoned with in the newly established Lothian Region Education Department in Torphichen Street. Rolly remained there until he retired in 1990, having become Regional Psychologist on Peter and Leslie’s retirement.

Somehow Rolly still managed to find time to perform with EGTG, SLO, Edinburgh Grand Opera Company, Edinburgh Music Theatre – of which he was a founder member – and eventually The Edinburgh Gilbert & Sullivan Society. In 1986 Rolly was invited to audition for Don Alhambra in The Gondoliers. Being successful led to an almost annual appearance on the stage of The Kings Theatre, playing most of the leading baritone roles in G&S for almost 20 years. Mickey joined him on the stage in these shows, as did daughter Alison and son David, in a production of Princess Ida.

In 1990 Rolly joined Mickey in the Edinburgh choir, Jubilo, and he sang with them until he was in his nineties. He also joined a small group, The Ingleneuk Singers, and when they folded he joined the Springwell Golden Voices and managed to sing with them until only four months before he died.

After Rolly retired from work, he joined the Board of The Bridges Project – a charity for homeless and disadvantaged young people. His vast experience was invaluable to the organisation and he only retired after his 90th birthday.

Holidays were always very important to the York family and when the children were young these were usually spent in the Black Isle and Gatehouse of Fleet. Later they branched out into camping holidays in France until one too many soggy tents led to gites and hotels. Later, cruises became a favourite pastime.

Rolly is survived by Mickey, Alison, David and three grandchildren.

MICKEY YORK