He grew up in a rural community completing his secondary education at Drax Grammar School, where he had earned a scholarship.

After school, he spent a brief spell working for Blackburn Aircraft, a company that would eventually form part of British Aerospace. This career path was interrupted by the Second World War, however, when Robert signed up for the Welsh Guards and ended up driving Cromwell tanks.

He saw action mostly in northern Europe and was in Nijmegen "on a bridge too far". When the German army finally surrendered he was in Lübeck guarding submarines.

He never used to talk much about the war, or his part in it, and he never displayed the medals he earned during the conflict. Being the deep thinker he was, he probably saw the necessity in serving his country but not the glory of it.

When Robert left the army, he returned home and opted for a career in the medical industry as a hospital administrator, spending his first years at a tuberculosis hospital near his home village in Yorkshire.

In his early years, he was active in many sports, including tennis, cricket and rugby.

It was around this time that he married June, who nursed him when he broke his leg during a sporting accident and was confined to hospital in Leeds.

His career advancement showed moves to Lancashire and then to Scotland, first to manage Falkirk Royal Infirmary and then to the north of Scotland as district administrator to Caithness and Sutherland where he remained until he retired.

Robert saw and was involved in many changes in the health service during his time.

He was involved in the design of the first racetrack ward in Scotland at Falkirk infirmary in the 1960s - these wards were to help change wards from being long, open Nightingale wards, to small-bedded units to give privacy and mobility of sexes.

One of Robert's last tasks before retirement was to oversee the building of the new hospital in Wick.

Many years after his first schooling, Robert enrolled in the Open University, where he studied off and on for many years when his job and other commitments allowed.

He eventually gained a degree in social sciences in the mid-1970s, something that the war prevented him from obtaining years earlier.

Robert, Bob to his friends, always carried out his job with the utmost of professionalism, always with good humour and to great effect. He commanded respect from all who knew him; even though he rarely lost his temper or raised his voice.

His dry sense of humour and sharp intelligence were legendary and even though he was never the centre of attention, everywhere he went was the better for it.

Unknown to many, he was deaf as a result of a war injury and was able to benefit from a hearing aid only in the last few years of his life. This deafness caused him to apparently ignore people who called after him when his back was turned.

Robert was also a devoted family man who loved driving holidays, camping and visiting new and interesting places.

In his latter days, he loved going on cruises to see the places he used to read about as a boy. While he never appeared to be very ambitious, he managed a lot in his life and probably died content with his achievements. A lot can be learned from his calm and relaxed way of dealing with life.

He is survived by June, his wife for nearly 60 years, their sons, Richard, Stephen and Ian, and their daughter, Jayne.

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