We are sad to report the passing of two Leeds Civic Trust stalwarts – Bob Tyrrell and Michael Meadowcroft. Fuller obituaries will appear in the next edition of Outlook.
Bob Tyrrell, who has passed away at the age of 88, was a long standing and committed member and volunteer of Leeds Civic Trust. Although a Probation Officer by profession, Bob had a fascination with the history of his adopted city and his outlet for this was the Trust’s Blue Plaques Scheme. Bob was a member of the Blue Plaques Group and as well as being part of the decision-making process, he contributed to the writing of the hand-outs that accompany our unveilings and to the wording on the plaques themselves. Bob was not afraid of rolling his sleeves up – he monitored the condition of our blue plaques and could often be seen with a pair of step-ladders washing or touching up our plaques across the city. His proudest achievement was being co-author with Kevin Grady of “Blue Plaques of Leeds: The Next Collection.” My own personal reflections are of a man of enormous enthusiasm and warmth; when he came into Wharf Street on a Monday, he would seem to survive the entire day on a cup a soup as he undertook he various tasks. We saw less of Bob after the Covid pandemic and latterly as dementia took hold he moved away from Leeds to live near his daughter, but his contribution to the work of Leeds Civic Trust was significant and he will be remembered.
Michael Meadowcroft, who has died at the age of 84, was an active and passionate advocate for the history and heritage of Leeds. He was always happy to devote his time to speaking about historical subjects close to his heart (in particular during Heritage Open Days) but would also contact the Trust about a topic, encouraging us to take a stand. His most recent and significant intervention was first of all to co-ordinate efforts in Wortley to save the T V Harrison Sports Ground from development and then to successfully apply for a blue plaque to celebrate an inner-city green space that was the place where many children had their first taste of organised sport and in some cases because professional sports men and women; Paul Reaney – one of the LUFC greats, helped unveil the plaque. I should add that I have a personal connection with Michael. I had known Michael for many years through our involvement in liberal politics (he was Liberal MP for Leeds West between 1983-1987) and by quirk of fate, he was my mother-in-law Heather Greaves’s manager when they both worked at Liberal Party HQ in the 1960s. A man of strong convictions who was always supportive of the work of the Trust will be missed.
