Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich)
Roy Adams
(d. 17 August 2024)
Roy Adams seated front RHS, next to wife Merlyn. Taken during a visit with colleagues from OASI to Bury St Edmunds Athenaeum Observatory, 17 October 2015.
Kind, modest, approachable, environmentally conscious, compassionate, knowledgeable, an eye for fine detail, not short of a word or two (not to mention three!), a producer of long and detailed reports. These are things I think of when describing Roy. He could also be enigmatic, dogmatic and determined, when he felt he wasn't being taken seriously. We all have our own memories of him.
Roy joined Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich) in the mid 1970s and became involved with newsletter production. His sketch of the Tomline refractor appeared on the front cover. In an era before modern computers, he generated micro-typed editions. Notably they were all error free! Roy purchased a dry photocopier and assisted with production. He contributed many articles including a multi-part epic with interesting views on restoring the original water-powered hydraulic lift at Orwell Park observatory. Detailed observation reports between the 1970s and 1990s included comets and sunspot sketches.
In 1979, Roy used Meccano parts to construct a mount and drive for his 60 mm refractor. Quoting Roy, I initially constructed the clutch from two back-to-back rubber-tyred Meccano pulleys, but this did not provide adequate friction. Slipping in two discs of industrial sandpaper between the pulleys provided an easy solution.
Unusually for a member of an astronomy society, Roy maintained an active interest in UFOs. The June 1978 Newsletter featured a UFO Hotline! To spread "knowledge" of the subject, Roy arranged a couple of talks for the society and built up a library of books at home. I never found out whether he had encountered a UFO but have no doubt that, had he done so, he would have offered the crew breakdown assistance using Meccano parts!
Roy's Friends of the Earth credentials were well known to members of OASI. In the 1970s, he was involved in an innovative but ultimately unsuccessful campaign to construct a road tunnel under the River Orwell before the road bridge was built. In the 1980s, he led a campaign to ban stubble burning and, in 1993 was proved right when the practice was outlawed.
Roy became a Trustee of OASI in 1978. After I joined the society in 1992, my first memory of Roy was of him presenting the trustees' report at the AGM. He always produced detailed and beautifully handwritten reports on two sheets of A4, the quality of which would have made the Brontë Sisters proud. It was every Chairman's nightmare because, if Roy were allowed to read the report in its entirety, it could easily take the best part of half an hour, if not longer. A highlight was his sketch of the Tomline refractor showing the torque measurements using a spring balance with the scope aligned to different compass bearings. The movement seemed stiffer this year! On one occasion, Roy and the other trustees reported that the drive mechanism of the Tomline refractor looked like it had not been lubricated for some time. It took a huge amount of persuasion to convince them that an invisible dry lubricant had been applied instead! Roy reported with regularity on areas that had become untidy, most typically the storage room at the foot of the stairs, and the status of the fire extinguishers.
The last survey of Orwell Park Observatory that I attempted to undertake with Roy as a fellow trustee was in the summer of 2019. Unfortunately, we could not get in to the Observatory due to the school security system. I became a little worried when Roy said he was prepared to scale some gates at the back of the school to look for someone to let us in. He took some persuading that it would be best if we both left and returned another day!
Not long after the aborted survey, Roy was admitted to Ipswich hospital. Subsequent lockdown restrictions the following year prohibited hospital visits for four months. Having been discharged, Roy needed round-the-clock care at home. We must pay special tribute to Merlyn who looked after him around the clock and the carers and other professional staff who visited him on a regular basis.
Right to the very end, Roy maintained an active interest in OASI and always enjoyed receiving printed copies of the Newsletters. A conversation could easily cover multiple topics in a relatively short time. I can recall at one moment Roy was discussing the conflict in Ukraine which made him visibly emotional. Then in the next sentence he would be trying to recount how to remove the object glass from the transit telescope at the observatory preferably without breaking it!
A little known fact concerning Roy is that he was fluent in Brummy having spent time in the city. As a native speaker I can say I was impressed, and can attest that he fully understood all the words that I came up with to test his proficiency, including "ardu" (hello), "bostin" (smashing), tarrar-a bit" (bye), "bison" (basin).
I feel extremely privileged to have known Roy. I am sure you will join me in saying may he rest in peace, and wishing him a great final voyage among the stars.
Neil Morley