Roy Francis Nicole
1st May 1932 - 17th November 2019
I am Christopher Nicole, Roy Nicole was my dad. He was the husband of Pat, father of
myself, David and Mark, and grandfather to James and Bryony.
In many ways, Roy was rather private, he rarely spoke about himself.
We have had to piece together a biography from family stories, photographs and odd
scraps of information. I often asked Roy to write down some of his memoirs, but if he did
we have not found them yet.
Miranda Nightingale lived on Monmouth Street off Hessle Road, Hull. A few years later
Roy’s future wife Patricia Wriglesworth was born on the same street. We have a few photos
of Roy with his parents, usually accompanied by a very scruffy black dog as big as himself.
During WW2 Roy’s family evacuated to York where Roy’s father worked at an aircraft factory.
After the war the family moved out to Skirlaugh in Holderness. Later Roy’s father worked for
a company building luxury limousines. Apparently he tended to bring his work home with him
as there are still a few odd bits of Rolls Royce secreted around the house!
Roy attended various schools, he was very bright and did well. We have a photo of him in
Grammar school uniform with a prefect’s badge. He was awarded a place at the University
of Exeter where in 1953 he achieved a BSc in General Science which he followed up with a
HND in Aircraft Structures. Whilst at Exeter Roy competed at Fencing for the University. Roy
also competed as the youngest member of the British team in the 1952 Wakefield International
Cup in Sweden. This was a competition for flying model aircraft designed and built by the
competitors. On his second flight, Roy’s aircraft took too long to retrieve and he was disqualified.
Otherwise he would have placed very highly.
As a young man Roy was interested in motorsport, competing in Hill Climbing events in his
MG, as well as making a driving tour through Europe. He also raced Laser and Fireball sailing
dinghies at the Humber Yawl Club.
actually did! Now I believe he signed the Official Secrets Act and like most things in his life,
he took it seriously. Following University, Roy’s interest in aircraft progressed and in 1954 he joined Fairy Aviation
as a Technical Assistant working on the Gnat, Gannet, Rotodyne and Ultra-Light Helicopter.
In 1957 Roy moved back to East Yorkshire and joined Blackburn Aircraft as a Senior Stressman.
At Blackburn’s Roy met Pat who he thought "was an absolute stunner". I have seen the photo's,
she was and still is. Pat was working as a Tracer in the Drawing Office. They married at
North Newbald in 1959 and moved into a bungalow in Welton backing onto South Hunsley
School. In 1962 I arrived and David followed soon after. We often wondered how Pat and
Roy got together as they are such different personalities. I know they loved each other very
much, they celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary last year.
In 1966 Roy moved to the British Aircraft Corporation in Stevenage where he worked on
Concorde. In 1968 following the death of Roy’s parents, we returned to East Yorkshire,
moving to a new house in South Cave and Mark was born soon after.
Roy resumed his career at Blackburn’s as a Senior Structures Engineer working on the
Harrier, Nimrod, Phantom, Buccaneer, A300 and Hawk aircraft. When the USA adopted
production of the Harrier Jet as the AV8B, Roy made several trips over to America to assist
them. It was said that Roy was responsible for the bits that did not fall off!
Roy stayed at Blackburns for the rest of his career combining two related fields of Engineering
in Dynamics and Fracture Mechanics. His role as Chief Dynamics Engineer and Principal
Fracture Engineer resulted in Brough becoming Britain’s leading site for Fracture Mechanics
in military aviation. Roy finished at Brough as Group Leader Dynamics and Fracture Technology.
I was told that Roy’s work is still highly regarded and that techniques and documents he
developed are still in use.
We are indebted to John O’Hara for his presentation on Roy’s retirement.
through the School, WI, Scouts and Army Cadets. Roy restored a sailing dinghy for the
Scouts and taught fencing to the Cadets. Roy was coaching fencing at Haltemprice.
At one village fete Roy gave a swashbuckling demonstration of Renaissance Fencing
where he rescued the Lovely Lady Patricia from a pair of villainous ruffians!
All our holidays were in Britain. We had trips up to Scarborough to see the battleships
at Peasholme Park, which were built by Pat’s father. On one holiday in Hereford, Roy
had a copy of Alfred Watkins Old Straight Track so we spent most of the holiday looking
for Ley Lines and ancient alignments. In Scotland we were looking for Castles, Brochs
and stone circles. On the Isle of Wight we went to see the Dinosaurs.
Apart from Pat, Roy’s pride and joy was a silver grey Honda S800 sports car. We always
thought it was a James Bond car and wondered which button launched the ejector-seat!Unfortunately, it was only really a two-seater so we boys had to lay down in the back.
With three children and two small dogs the sports car was replaced by a much more
practical Volvo.
When I started driving lessons and needed a car, Roy rebuilt a mini in the garage.Roy took me for one memorable first Driving lesson. We started off with Roy assuming
that I knew how to drive and just needed a polish. As we were hurtling down Rudstone
Hill towards a busy tee junction Roy suggested I slow down. I had to ask him which was
the brake? After that we agreed that Pat would take me for any more lessons!
In 1980 we moved to a bigger house at Skillings Lane in Brough where Roy built a garage
and workshop. Pat and Roy were ardent collectors and the bigger house gave them
ample opportunity to develop this passion.
mum and dad to spend much more time on their hobbies and travels. Roy had inherited
a lathe and tools from his father, these had moved with us from house to house. Now
Roy had opportunity to perfect his woodturning skills and develop new techniques. He also
acquired more tools and a lot more exotic timber. Most of this is still secreted around
the house!
As Roy developed his lathe skills he joined the East Yorkshire Woodturners and started
producing items for sale at craft shows alongside Pat’s quilted cushions. While he was
quite capable of turning out ‘bread and butter’ items that paid for his hobby, he excelled
at creative turning and produced some extraordinary pieces. He loved trying new materials,
finishes and techniques, these he entered into competitions and often won. Retirement also meant Pat and Roy now had more time for the holidays. They started with
Dutch Dashes across the North Sea then moved onto longer stays in Portugal and Spain.
Roy especially loved Portugal and took evening classes to learn to speak Portuguese.
He often spoke of the restaurants they visited and the people they met on holiday. In retirement Roy continued his involvement in local community groups. He served as
Treasurer of the Friends of Myers Beck for many years and with Pat represented Myers Beck
at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party.
rescue of some sort. Over the years the dogs ranged from chihuahuas (before they
became so popular) to greyhounds with a lot of mixtures in between. Roy could be seen
walking his dog down Skillings Lane and round the Burrs in all weathers. He probably knew
the name of every other dog in the village and to a lesser extent their owners, usually
referred to as Scampy’s mum or dad.
Roy’s last greyhound Rosy is now living with Mark in Scotland and has settled in very well.
myself, David and Mark, and grandfather to James and Bryony.
In many ways, Roy was rather private, he rarely spoke about himself.
We have had to piece together a biography from family stories, photographs and odd
scraps of information. I often asked Roy to write down some of his memoirs, but if he did
we have not found them yet.
Early life
Roy was born on the 1st of May 1932. His parents Frederick Charles Nicole and RosalindMiranda Nightingale lived on Monmouth Street off Hessle Road, Hull. A few years later
Roy’s future wife Patricia Wriglesworth was born on the same street. We have a few photos
of Roy with his parents, usually accompanied by a very scruffy black dog as big as himself.
During WW2 Roy’s family evacuated to York where Roy’s father worked at an aircraft factory.
After the war the family moved out to Skirlaugh in Holderness. Later Roy’s father worked for
a company building luxury limousines. Apparently he tended to bring his work home with him
as there are still a few odd bits of Rolls Royce secreted around the house!
Roy attended various schools, he was very bright and did well. We have a photo of him in
Grammar school uniform with a prefect’s badge. He was awarded a place at the University
of Exeter where in 1953 he achieved a BSc in General Science which he followed up with a
HND in Aircraft Structures. Whilst at Exeter Roy competed at Fencing for the University. Roy
also competed as the youngest member of the British team in the 1952 Wakefield International
Cup in Sweden. This was a competition for flying model aircraft designed and built by the
competitors. On his second flight, Roy’s aircraft took too long to retrieve and he was disqualified.
Otherwise he would have placed very highly.
As a young man Roy was interested in motorsport, competing in Hill Climbing events in his
MG, as well as making a driving tour through Europe. He also raced Laser and Fireball sailing
dinghies at the Humber Yawl Club.
Career
At home Roy never spoke much about his work so we really did not know what it was heactually did! Now I believe he signed the Official Secrets Act and like most things in his life,
he took it seriously. Following University, Roy’s interest in aircraft progressed and in 1954 he joined Fairy Aviation
as a Technical Assistant working on the Gnat, Gannet, Rotodyne and Ultra-Light Helicopter.
In 1957 Roy moved back to East Yorkshire and joined Blackburn Aircraft as a Senior Stressman.
At Blackburn’s Roy met Pat who he thought "was an absolute stunner". I have seen the photo's,
she was and still is. Pat was working as a Tracer in the Drawing Office. They married at
North Newbald in 1959 and moved into a bungalow in Welton backing onto South Hunsley
School. In 1962 I arrived and David followed soon after. We often wondered how Pat and
Roy got together as they are such different personalities. I know they loved each other very
much, they celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary last year.
In 1966 Roy moved to the British Aircraft Corporation in Stevenage where he worked on
Concorde. In 1968 following the death of Roy’s parents, we returned to East Yorkshire,
moving to a new house in South Cave and Mark was born soon after.
Roy resumed his career at Blackburn’s as a Senior Structures Engineer working on the
Harrier, Nimrod, Phantom, Buccaneer, A300 and Hawk aircraft. When the USA adopted
production of the Harrier Jet as the AV8B, Roy made several trips over to America to assist
them. It was said that Roy was responsible for the bits that did not fall off!
Roy stayed at Blackburns for the rest of his career combining two related fields of Engineering
in Dynamics and Fracture Mechanics. His role as Chief Dynamics Engineer and Principal
Fracture Engineer resulted in Brough becoming Britain’s leading site for Fracture Mechanics
in military aviation. Roy finished at Brough as Group Leader Dynamics and Fracture Technology.
I was told that Roy’s work is still highly regarded and that techniques and documents he
developed are still in use.
We are indebted to John O’Hara for his presentation on Roy’s retirement.
Home Life
We grew up in South Cave where Pat and Roy became involved in the local communitythrough the School, WI, Scouts and Army Cadets. Roy restored a sailing dinghy for the
Scouts and taught fencing to the Cadets. Roy was coaching fencing at Haltemprice.
At one village fete Roy gave a swashbuckling demonstration of Renaissance Fencing
where he rescued the Lovely Lady Patricia from a pair of villainous ruffians!
All our holidays were in Britain. We had trips up to Scarborough to see the battleships
at Peasholme Park, which were built by Pat’s father. On one holiday in Hereford, Roy
had a copy of Alfred Watkins Old Straight Track so we spent most of the holiday looking
for Ley Lines and ancient alignments. In Scotland we were looking for Castles, Brochs
and stone circles. On the Isle of Wight we went to see the Dinosaurs.
Apart from Pat, Roy’s pride and joy was a silver grey Honda S800 sports car. We always
thought it was a James Bond car and wondered which button launched the ejector-seat!Unfortunately, it was only really a two-seater so we boys had to lay down in the back.
With three children and two small dogs the sports car was replaced by a much more
practical Volvo.
When I started driving lessons and needed a car, Roy rebuilt a mini in the garage.Roy took me for one memorable first Driving lesson. We started off with Roy assuming
that I knew how to drive and just needed a polish. As we were hurtling down Rudstone
Hill towards a busy tee junction Roy suggested I slow down. I had to ask him which was
the brake? After that we agreed that Pat would take me for any more lessons!
In 1980 we moved to a bigger house at Skillings Lane in Brough where Roy built a garage
and workshop. Pat and Roy were ardent collectors and the bigger house gave them
ample opportunity to develop this passion.
Retirement
In 1992 at the age of sixty Roy took early retirement from British Aerospace. This allowedmum and dad to spend much more time on their hobbies and travels. Roy had inherited
a lathe and tools from his father, these had moved with us from house to house. Now
Roy had opportunity to perfect his woodturning skills and develop new techniques. He also
acquired more tools and a lot more exotic timber. Most of this is still secreted around
the house!
As Roy developed his lathe skills he joined the East Yorkshire Woodturners and started
producing items for sale at craft shows alongside Pat’s quilted cushions. While he was
quite capable of turning out ‘bread and butter’ items that paid for his hobby, he excelled
at creative turning and produced some extraordinary pieces. He loved trying new materials,
finishes and techniques, these he entered into competitions and often won. Retirement also meant Pat and Roy now had more time for the holidays. They started with
Dutch Dashes across the North Sea then moved onto longer stays in Portugal and Spain.
Roy especially loved Portugal and took evening classes to learn to speak Portuguese.
He often spoke of the restaurants they visited and the people they met on holiday. In retirement Roy continued his involvement in local community groups. He served as
Treasurer of the Friends of Myers Beck for many years and with Pat represented Myers Beck
at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party.
Dogs
Throughout Roy’s life he was accompanied by dogs, mostly black and white and usually arescue of some sort. Over the years the dogs ranged from chihuahuas (before they
became so popular) to greyhounds with a lot of mixtures in between. Roy could be seen
walking his dog down Skillings Lane and round the Burrs in all weathers. He probably knew
the name of every other dog in the village and to a lesser extent their owners, usually
referred to as Scampy’s mum or dad.
Roy’s last greyhound Rosy is now living with Mark in Scotland and has settled in very well.
Roy built aircraft and he built boats,
He made a family, he made friendships and he made memories.
When the aircraft have flown and the boats sailed away,
the family and the friends remain and the memories go on.
Chris, you spoke so well, we learned a lot about your Dad, our cousin Roy.Sorry we didn't see you both when we left, you had left to take Pat home, good she was able to be there in the Chapel with you all, Trudy xx
ReplyDeleteThank you Trudy. It was good to see you and other Nicole cousins at the service. I am sorry that I did not get to speak with you. Mum was on good form. She didn't know who it was about or why we were there but she enjoyed the service, meeting people and the singing.
ReplyDeleteWe are hoping to visit Cambridge and Ely next year so maybe we can meet up ?
Chris xx