Roy Dilley British Model Soldier Society RIP

[Nap]

Hi all

It was sad to receive this mail from Paul Vickers , current Chairman BMSS

Dear All,

I received the e-mail below from Tony Dilley informing us of the sad death of his father, Roy Dilley, who I am sure everyone will remember from his many years of service to the BMSS and to the wider hobby. Please pass on this information to any of your members who may have known Roy.

Tony gives the date and time of Roy's funeral in his e-mail, should anyone wish to attend. The Surrey and Sussex Crematorium is in Crawley, for more details see http://www.crawleysussex.co.uk/directory/surrey-and-sussex-crematorium.

This is very sad news for us all. Roy was such a well-known and well-liked figure not just in the BMSS but in the wider hobby, and he will be much missed. I am sure that there will be full tributes to him in the Bulletin and that many will have their own memories of him.

Kind regards,

Paul

Paul H. Vickers
President, British Model Soldier Society


I met Roy several times in the early part of my time in this hobby and he was as always a pleasure to talk to and so knowledgeable , always having time for others

He wrote several books on Model Soldiers



And also several reference books including these



As well as contributing many articles to modelling magazines including Military Modelling magazine and co writing other books

One of many of his models

Sad news indeed ...

Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time

RIP Roy ( here on the right in this early BMSS picture )

Nap

 

[Banjer]

A lot of people won't know just how much he did to promote the hobby in it's early days. Those were the days of lead soldiers, solder and toothpaste tubes for straps and belts.
RIP Roy

 

[blaster]

Great inspirational modeller! That was a nice tribute.

Victor

 

[fogie]

Yes indeed Kev, as Victor says, a fine tribute to a kindly and highly knowledgeable man. I met him back in
my BMSS days and benefited from his shared wisdom and experience.

Mike

 

[OldTaff]

Me, too, Mike, Roy was always the gentleman and the finest as President of the BMSS. He was instrumental in us setting up the Summer School at the National Army Museum, to encourage youngsters to come along and have a go at modelling and painting......great times, and a lot of fun. That was way back in the late '70's/ early 80's.

Alan

 

[Chris Oldfield]

Agreed re all the comments above, Roy Dilley was a true gentleman whom I had the pleasure of meeting when I attended the BMSS Aldershot show in 2000. I’d built Dragon Models’ 1/35 Sherman V with 60lb aircraft rockets mounted either side of the turret, & he was kind enough to comment favourably on the model, & also to share his insight into the real thing as he’d served in the Guards Armoured Division during WW2.

Two magazine articles penned by Roy also influenced me greatly as a young modeller: both appeared in Airfix Magazine about 1972, in one he converted two Almark (remember them?) 1/32 Japanese infantrymen into a British WW1 Lewis gun team, & in the other he scratchbuilt a 1/32 Pak 38 anti-tank gun & crewed it with figures converted from Almark’s German Panzergrenadiers set. These were two of the best modelling articles I’ve ever read, incredible work.

Rest In Peace Roy, a true giant of the modelling hobby.

 

[Merryweather]

Thanks Nap for linking to this.
I'm woefully late ,no idea how I missed it as I am totally indebted Roy Dilley for my interest in modelling figures, rather than aeroplanes or tanks! It's
because of his articles in Airfix magazine back in the early seventies that I discovered the concept of conversions- starting with the Airfix 1-32 scale Motor Racing Spectators and graduating to the new and fantastic(for the time)soft plastic 1-32 scale German Infantry . I'm still very much an Airfix groupie, as some of you will know.
I never got to meet him, but ,as has been mentioned above, what a contribution he made to the hobby!
Rest In Peace Roy, and thank you so much for a lifetime of enjoyment.