I first met Rodney Cooke (RGC) in 1965 when he was working for Thomas Nelson Ltd Bradford. Jack Nelson NFRC Past President and Chair of the Roof Slating and Tiling (RS&T) Technical Committee was Managing Director (MD), and the company had external shareholders in Wm Airey Ltd, General Contractors and Henry Barrett Ltd, Steel Stockholders. RGC was Contracts Manager and later Contracts Director for Sheeting & Cladding, a division which he created.
RGC, Peter G Rogerson (PGR) & Martin Oldridge of Sandtoft & Alexander Sinclair Contracting all joined the Yorkshire Regional Committee on the same day at the 1965 AGM, when the Region realised it needed new blood.
PGR & RGC did most of the New Member Inspections and Complaints Procedures when Arnold Ingram was Regional Secretary. This also applied to the North East when the Regions merged and a membership drive was needed in North East.
When Jack Nelson and his sister Margaret, who was Co Sec retired the firm was acquired by Henry Barrett Ltd, Steel Stockholders and became part of their Structural Engineering Division. RGC was made M.D. and continued in that role until Barretts decided to close the company and use their purchasing power outside the Group.
RGC formed Rodney Cooke Roofing Ltd, with PGR as 50 per cent shareholder and trading on in that format and as Waterside Roofing Ltd until his 60th Birthday. During this period, he was Regional Chairman of the NFRC Yorkshire & North East Region (Y&NE), Founder Member and Governor of the Institute of Roofing. He served many years on the (Roof Sheeting & Cladding) RS&C Technical Committee at National.
At 60, RGC joined the Rogerson Group as Senior Estimator, subsequently Estimating Director, until his retirement in 2004.
In 2004 he replaced Arnold Ingram as Regional Secretary Y&NE NFRC and held that role until retirement in June 2016 when Andrew Turnbull succeeded him. He was appointed an Honorary Life Member of the Region and remained active on the Regional Committee until his recent death. For a great many years, he organised wonderful walks in the Lake District and other venues in association with the Regional Social Weekend.
He was also extremely proud to be granted Honorary Life Member of the National Federation and of the Institute of Roofing.
Rodney was always supported by his loving wife Barbara and by his son Andrew an extremely talented Mathematician who lectures in Chile, and his Daughter Joanne who is very involved in woodland conservation in Scotland.
Rodney was a prominent Freemason and an enormous supporter of the Children's Society.
Peter G Rogerson. OBE, Hon.FloR.
28 June 2021