Dear Robin
Although I didn't see you often enough you were a very special person to me as having no brothers or sisters, my cousins meant so much to me! I don't know if I am right but I have the feeling that you were the son who resembled my Aunty Alma the most. She was of course known as Aunty Queenie to me.
Rest in peace Robin. xxx 

I only knew Robin for a short 2 years, but I feel like I got to know alot about him through his son, Alex, my partner. Alex and I share stories about our Father's and their quirky similarites, a shared love of their log burners and their need to ensure the household is in order with detailed and organised filing systems. Robin and Jacqui were so welcoming to me the first time I met them, I was very nervous, but they made me feel right at home straight away with their beaming smiles. Robin would always make me a cappuccino with his fancy 'smeg' coffee machine when I was in their home and took so much care to make it perfect. Alex and I spent alot of time with Robin in his last 6 months, and we were able to share our love of strictly come dancing and watch it together in the lead up to Christmas. Alex took Robin on trips out when he was still well enough and when he came back home, Alex wouldn't stop taking to me about what they had done. I could tell how much Alex loved spending quality time with his Dad. I wish I could have had more time with Robin, but I feel very lucky to have met him and I will treasure the memories I do have. I look forward to seeing which traits Alex inherits from his wonderful Dad. Rest in peace Robin. Xx

My dear uncle Robin. The man of the wicked chuckle, the little explosion of excitement, the moustaches that always fascinated me, the “long” brother of the 3 who towered over me. You were the chocolate/sweet king (when I started working for Mars we did have discussions on whose brand was the best). You were that handsome uncle who brought to our house/garden one day this dazzlingly gorgeous woman with the twinkling eyes, dressed in a blue/green dress. I was memorised by her smile & what a sophisticated beautiful couple they were. And always remained so. Impeccably dressed, full of warmth. Robin, that polite, caring and intelligent gentleman who perfected the phrase “don’t mind if I do” when offered a 2nd or 3rd helping of mums delicious meals and desserts. And so we could also then take more! He was someone who lived to talk and laugh and joke around. He could get engrossed in any subject you put in front of him with a “well that’s very interesting..” and off he would go with you on some articulate journey and discussion. He always would lean in to me and look around to check no one was listening when sharing some advice or story. I am so sorry this last year stole us all of many more moments together. I see you in my head right now, big smile, legs and arms seeming to take over the chair next to us short people, and that’s how I will always remember you. Relaxed and amongst us. Rest easy.

Robin,
I kept meaning to tell you how much I enjoyed your company and how appreciative I was at how welcoming you had been to me. It never seemed like the right time though, as saying it out loud felt very final. At no point through all this did you give up on life, and thank goodness you didn’t because we all had such fun together in your final year. One of my most cherished memories will be flying a kite with you and Jesse on the beach. Despite these strange times we also managed to have what would be considered a normal Christmas. So thank you. I will miss our late night chats when everyone had gone to bed. The historical education and the sage advice on how to handle Buteux women. On one such late night I asked you for Ariane’s hand in marriage and you made that excited noise (“ha ho!”) that I’ll miss, shook my hand and went and opened another bottle of wine. It’s a shame you won’t get to see that day. An opportunity a wonderful raconteur as yourself would have relished. Sadly we will never get to hear that speech but we can have few regrets as our decision to have children first meant you had the opportunity to be a grandad, a job you loved. You especially left a lasting memory on Jesse who feels your loss deeply but is comforted by knowing you’re amongst the stars. He also seems to have inherited your intellect so when he asks “which star is Grandad” I’ll tell him “he’s the brightest one”.

Robin,
I kept meaning to tell you how much I enjoyed your company and how appreciative I was at how welcoming you had been to me. It never seemed like the right time though, as saying it out loud felt very final. At no point through all this did you give up on life, and thank goodness you didn’t because we all had such fun together in your final year. One of my most cherished memories will be flying a kite with you and Jesse on the beach. Despite these strange times we also managed to have what would be considered a normal Christmas. So thank you. I will miss our late night chats when everyone had gone to bed. The historical education and the sage advice on how to handle Buteux women. On one such late night I asked you for Ariane’s hand in marriage and you made that excited noise (“ha ho!”) that I’ll miss, shook my hand and went and opened another bottle of wine. It’s a shame you won’t get to see that day. An opportunity a wonderful raconteur as yourself would have relished. Sadly we will never get to hear that speech but we can have few regrets as our decision to have children first meant you had the opportunity to be a grandad, a job you loved. You especially left a lasting memory on Jesse who feels your loss deeply but is comforted by knowing you’re amongst the stars. He also seems to have inherited your intellect so when he asks “which star is Grandad” I’ll tell him “he’s the brightest one”.

Jacqui and I were at school together. She introduced me to Robin in about 1977. He was tall, dark and handsome and, best of all, he had a car! An MGB GT! A real catch; a catch that would see them together for over 40 years. Life, work, families and distance meant that we didn’t get together very often but, when we did, Robin was always engaging company: charming, witty, full of great stories and lots of smiles.

I will always remember Uncle Robin as such a kind and gentle man. I clearly remember the first time we met Jacqui when they stayed in our house in Alton and I thought they were such a glamourous couple. We went for a drive in Robin's car, which was more sporty than our family car, and they let me sit in the front, which was a really big treat. He also let me play his cassettes, which was the first time I had heard of Elkie Brooks, who I have loved ever since. Now I am married to an engineer, I appreciate his idiosyncracies even more.

Jen and I met Robin and Jacqui early one morning in 2009, in a Darwin hotel reception, waiting to be collected by our "Crocodile Dundee" guide for a three day trip round the Northern Territories National Parks. We were expecting to be part of a larger group but as it turned out there were just the four of us with Dave, our guide, in a Toyota Landcruiser. Recipe for disaster? On the contrary, as I am sure anyone who knew Robin could have told us.

He was a person that it would have been impossible to take an instant dislike to, ditto Jacqui. Friendly, intelligent, interesting, full of fun and a good raconteur: the three days were a total delight. Heading into the outback our first lunch was beside a pleasant tropical river. Our guide prepared lunch as we sat at a picnic table admiring the riverbank scenery. Dave shouted " if you see any croc's don't worry unless they start heading towards the bank." In no time at all a very large Croc could be seen swimming up and down the centre of the river, edging ever closer to our side of the bank. Those who knew Robin will appreciate the philosophical element of the debate that followed as to how close we should let the beast get to us before we ran back through the bush, to the safety of the Toyota screaming "Croc!" Fortunately a bunch of locals appeared on the other side of the bank about 100 yards downstream and the Croc moved off towards them.

Another highlight of our trip was to swim in a pool similar to the one Crocodile Dundee lured Linda Kozlowski into in the film. This involved a long trudge through the bush in 45 degree temperatures. During the walk our guide told Robin and I that in past days Aboriginals lived in dread of swimming in the inland pools for fear of the Big Crocs getting stuck there after the rainy season was over. Their solution was to get their wives to swim in the pools first. We had great delight in not telling J & J and persuading them to enter the water first. As the picture we posted shows we had a great time.

Robin and I shared many of the same interests and conversation never flagged, whether we were discussing Sport, Work, Chocolate Wars, German Engineering. Beer, Shopping, Ladies Shoes etc. We shared so many stories of our different life experiences and since returning from Australia have kept in touch by email, meeting up for an occasional meal as our travels took us up and down the country. His consoling remarks on Aston Villa's latest disaster were always much appreciated.

Robin was a very straightforward, honest man and in a strange way I was honoured that he chose to tell me of his diagnosis almost immediately he had it. He faced the prospect courageously and embarked on his treatment positively. He told me that the Doctors said that by the Median outcome it would be touch and go that he would get to see Christmas. Blew that out of the water then! Rest in Peace Robin.

There were never any awkward silences when Robin was in a group. Always upbeat with an infectious optimism, even when things were going wrong.
A master raconteur, able to extract maximum laughter and radiate cheer to everyone, even from a mediocre anecdote!
A very caring person.
As an engineer, Robin was in the in the premier league.
He will be missed by me and all the others in the beer and curry group , which he enjoyed so much.

My wonderful dad. It’s hard to know what to write here. He was so wise and full of stories and advice. A quick question could turn into a much longer discussion. Now, of course, I wish I’d paid more attention!

Growing up, he could always be relied upon to help where it was most needed, and more often that not it came in the form of a chauffeur, “Dad’s Taxis” as he liked to say. He would meet me outside a few key pick up points (York Minster or Clifford’s Tower, sometimes halfway down Bootham if I was pushing it by asking for a lift) always in the same spot, either at 11pm after a party, or picking me up from my weekend job as a teenager when the buses weren’t running. Once or twice, at university, £50 would appear in my bank account with the accompanying instruction “Don’t tell your mother” to help with my perpetual debt. And I’m not sure I could have asked for a better person to get me out of a tricky spot with homework questions while at school. Always patient, always guiding, always an understanding ear.

He adored my kids and they adored him back. Emotionally, he kept his cards close to his chest at times, but he made it clear he was devastated at not being able to see them grow up. My eldest, Jesse, misses him dearly though Lila is too young to understand. They would all have had a brilliant time exploring museums together, dad teaching them about the world.

I will miss him every day, but I’m grateful that we were able to spend 36 years together and I will cherish all of the memories.

Robin was a valued colleague at Nestle but a true friend who I have shared my retirement with.

At work Robin was a brilliant engineer and somewhat of a perfectionist, I remember him re-engineering a chocolate temperer for Drifter modifying it from a Rasch temperer (German) to incorporate a high degree of Aasted (Danish) temperer parts. It was a huge success and produced not only a better finish on the chocolate but enabled better weight control. There was however a price to pay, consisting of a 2 hour philosophical lecture from Robin about the relative merits of the German and Danish approaches to engineering and the inflexibility of the German mind compared to the Danish one. Workwise you could always rely on Robin to get the job done well and to get a detailed explanation of why it worked well.

Since retiring we spent many a day visiting a huge variety of pubs but to make our trips out seem more intellectual we usually incorporated a museum or such like on the trips out. Robins influence had us visit the Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, Manchester industrial museums and the Wakefield mining museum. On those days less drinking was done because once Robin got talking to the volunteers at the museums about Victorian engineering it was difficult to prise him away.

I will miss Robin's sense of humour, sharp intellect and our discussions about football and other things. I will still picture Robin with a pint in his hand, a wicked smile on his face holding forth about a huge variety of things, be it Brexit, Trump or Spurs.

My dear brother Robin was a kind, considerate and loving man who put himself out for others and would happily put himself second. His deep love for his wife, his children and grandchildren was clear to all of us in his wider family and others who knew him. Highly intelligent, he had an enquiring mind and, it seems to me, loved and was fascinated by the world and by the quirkiness of it all and the people who populated it. An engineering enthusiast, he thrived on grappling with and solving problems big or small, the latter sometimes to Jacqui’s frustration if his need for precision delayed redecorating! A bit of a philosopher, he would happily explore ideas with whoever would engage with him so we often had long conversations on the telephone or around the table (don’t think I ever bested him in an argument!). In my mind’s eye I can see Robin with a smile on his face, happily chatting with or regaling others and laughing or chortling over one thing or another. I’ll sorely miss you Robin. Rest easy and when/if we meet again, we can start where we left off. And, if there is a celestial Rowntrees, save me some of the specials.