A man from Kingswinford in England’s West Midlands left a £1.4 million donation to the RNLI in his will, which has contributed towards Arklow RNLI’s brand-new Shannon class lifeboat.
Roy Holloway passed away in June 2014. Ten years later, his £1.4M legacy donation greatly contributed to the funding of Arklow’s new Shannon class lifeboat.
Though funded in total by a number of legacies, the naming rights donor was Roy Holloway. Therefore the lifeboat, which arrived in Arklow RNLI on 13 October, is named after him.
Roy was a professional musician, an expert on the piano. His skill was to accompany artists. Roy was known as “the tall chap” by the artists, and when they knew he was accompanying, they were put at ease. He could play anything the first time he saw the music, and had a huge repertoire stored in his mind.
As well as being an expert musician, Roy was also a teacher. He taught his students for many hours every week. Roy was a teacher, a mentor, a friend and a surrogate grandfather to many.
Roy worked right until the end, and in those latter years when he was having a tiring day he would say, “Whatever you do, don’t get old.” He was a young man in an old body.
Roy’s family were surprised by how much money he had saved up in his life. Although Roy had a modest upbringing and didn’t spend money on himself, the family were astonished to discover that he had amassed around £1.8 million in his lifetime.
Living in the English Midlands for his whole life, holidays to the seaside would’ve been uncommon for Roy. He had little awareness of the RNLI, until one Christmas when a friend sent him a card with a lifeboat on the front.
The card featured a bright orange boat battling rough seas. He liked the card so much that he brought it out every Christmas to display on his piano.
Roy mentioned to family before his passing that he would leave “a little something” to the RNLI, as he admired the work and bravery of the crews. Little did they know, he left nearly everything he had to the charity.
Richard Cartwright, a friend of Roy, said: “We were astonished to discover how much money Roy had saved during his lifetime. He never spent money on himself but was always generous to others.
“When we found out that he left that majority of his savings to the RNLI, we were so proud of him. We knew he had a great admiration for the charity, so it made perfect sense.
“Roy would never have asked for a boat to be named after him, but sometimes we need to make a fuss of the ones we love. His legacy will protect people he has never known and give Arklow’s brave volunteers the ability to perform their lifesaving duties.
“Roy lived an extraordinary life, and now due to his gift, others in trouble at sea will have an opportunity to live a life as long, and happy as he did.”
