Born on 1 October 1941 in Warwick.

Roy began his working life as a butcher, completing his apprenticeship in the late 1940s upon leaving school — a discipline that instilled in him a pride in craft and a respect for hard, honest work that would define him for the rest of his days. In 1960, he married his beloved wife Wendy, and the two set off together on a great adventure, first to Bedford where they took on their own butcher’s shop, and then to Leamington Spa where they tried again. It was during these years that Roy’s restless and enquiring mind began to pull him in a new direction. He enrolled in night school, earning a City & Guilds qualification in Mechanical Engineering — a decision that would set the course of his entire professional life.

Armed with his new qualification, Roy stepped away from the butchery trade and joined Warwick Production, a manufacturer of components for the Ministry of Defence and private sector clients. It was here that he honed the engineering and from there he moved to Hancock and Lane, makers of grain dryers, and in the early 1970s the company pivoted to building canal boats. Roy embraced this new chapter with characteristic enthusiasm, and before long he had partnered with Dom Coles to establish his own boat-building business. What began with private commissions grew into something remarkable when they were commissioned to build an entire fleet for Calcutt Boats. At its peak, the business employed ten people — a source of deep pride for a man who had started from nothing.

After parting ways with Dom, Roy founded Warstock Engineering, running it alongside a full-time position at Dowdeswell Engineering — a testament to his extraordinary work ethic and drive. In 1991, his son Dale joined the business, and Warstock Engineering grew into a true family enterprise, operating a machine shop, a small foundry, and a fabrication shop, serving primarily the marine industry alongside broader general manufacturing. The business passed yet another milestone in the 2000s when the third generation joined the fold: Roy’s grandson Luke began his own apprenticeship there, learning his trade at his grandfather’s side just as Roy himself had done decades before. Warstock Engineering continued until Roy’s passing in 2016 — a business that in many ways was simply an extension of the man himself: creative, tenacious, and built to last.

Yet for all that Roy achieved in his professional life, it was his family that he held most dear. He and Wendy, married in 1960, built a home filled with love and laughter, raising five children: Nigel (1963), Helen (1965), Dawn (1966), Sarah (1969), and Dale (1975). In time, that family grew to include eight grandchildren — Luke and Jacob, sons of Helen; Holly, Katie and Jodi, daughters of Sarah; and Dorothy, Toni and Elizabeth, daughters of Dawn. Roy adored his grandchildren, and they adored him in return. He gave them his time without reservation, his wisdom without condition, and his love without limit. His dogs, too, were a constant source of joy, and he cared for them with the same gentle warmth he brought to everything he loved.

Those who knew Roy speak of him in the same breath as words like kindness, generosity, and dependability. He was the sort of man who would help anyone at a moment’s notice, and who expected nothing in return. His creativity and gift for problem-solving were matched only by his perseverance — he would not rest until he had found a solution, no matter how complex the challenge. Engineering was not simply Roy’s livelihood; it was his passion, and the joy he found in making things, in turning raw materials into something useful and lasting, never dimmed. Mathematics, problem-solving, the satisfaction of a well-made object — these were the quiet pleasures that sustained him.

Above all else, Roy was a teacher. The lessons he shared — about commitment, about integrity, about the dignity of hard work and the importance of showing up for the people you love — live on in his children and grandchildren every single day. He leaves behind not only a family who misses him deeply, but a generation shaped by his example and enriched by his presence. Roy Victor William Willoughby was, in every sense of the word, a good man. He will be forever in our hearts.

Roy leaves behind a legacy built not in grand gestures, but in the quiet, steadfast devotion he gave to his family, his craft, and every person fortunate enough to know him.