OBITUARY: 'inspiring' University College Oxford tutor Roy Park

Roy Park was a tutorial fellow in English at University College Oxford for almost a quarter of a century, gaining a reputation as a driven but admired academic.

His students respected his passion to help them become the best they could be, while he was keen to offer opportunities at Oxford to state school students.

Roy Park was born in Glasgow, to parents Elizabeth and John.

He spent his childhood in the city and left school at 16, when he went to work in the city’s Mitchell Library.

Roy’s ability and application was evident when he learned Latin on the bus and won a place at Glasgow University, where he achieved a first in English literature and moral philosophy.

Mr Park spent more than 30 years teaching at Oxford and Cambridge, receiving his first job offer when cycling in Norway with his future wife, Alice Reid.

A telegram came through asking him to pursue research studies at Cambridge and the Glaswegian took up a junior fellowship, which saw him teach undergraduates at Pembroke College.

Mr Park married his wife in 1963 and the couple had three children, Alison, Gavin and Kirsty.

He spent the rest of the 1960s at Cambridge, before taking up a fellowship at University College in 1972 - a position he would hold for the next 24 years.

The family moved into a house in Charlbury Road, north Oxford, and the three children grew up and went to school in the area.

Always a fascinating individual, Mr and Mrs Park often hosted memorable parties in the house, off Banbury Road.

He was equally loved at University College, particularly through his role as fellow librarian from 1974 to 1996.

Mr Park worked with the college’s librarian, Christine Ritchie, to transform the library’s ground floor into a new reading room with librarian’s office.

Although the academic could sometimes strike fear into the hearts of students, it was never for sinister reasons - he was simply hugely passionate about his field and wanted others to show the same enthusiasm.

For many years, Mr Park worked alongside Helen Cooper, the college’s other fellow in English, and they enhanced the reputation of University College among present and future students.

Ms Cooper fondly remembers the ‘thick fug of pipe smoke, and his even thicker Glaswegian accent’, plus the floor-level chairs he employed for his short frame.

Those he mentored included the satirist Armando Iannucci, film and television director Tom Hooper and Channel 4 news presenter, Alex Thomson.

As someone who had not come from a private school background, Mr Park was passionate about giving opportunities to talented state school students - especially if they were Scottish.

He retired early in 1996 and moved back to Scotland with his wife.

They divided their time between Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands, which allowed Mr Park to indulge his passion for gardening.

He died on July 17 and is survived by his wife and three daughters.