Robin C. Lavery (55-59) died suddenly from a ruptured aortic valve at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital on October 18th, 2026, aged 85. He leaves a wife Sue, two sons Tom and Nick and four grandchildren. His funeral is to take place at the Church of the Holy Cross, Crediton EX17 2AH at 12 noon on November 6th and afterwards at Boniface Centre.

At the NCP Robin was Chief of Harbinger Division and in Form VI Science. An outstanding sportsman, he played in the Cricket 1st XI, opening the bowling for three years 1957-59, was a member of the Cross-Country team and a strong full back in the Rugby 1st XV in 1958 noted for his kicking skills. In the summer vacation of 1959 he organised the first-ever out-of-term cricket tour by students known as the Stags XI to Cambridge.

The Staggs Cricket Tour 1959

Coming from Darwen in Lancashire, he dropped the idea of a career at sea soon after arriving at the NCP. Instead, on leaving school he embarked on a student apprenticeship with Richard Thomas & Baldwins (subsequently British Steel). “That lasted five years and ended with a degree in Electrical Engineering,” he wrote in 2023. “I remained in the steel industry for a further eight years and transferred into a private company manufacturing electrical welding equipment where I was employed in a sales capacity.

“This lasted five years before I joined another engineering company (Westbrick Engineering) in Exeter, again sales-related but rising to a directorship. The main benefit of this move was that it brought me to Devon where I remained very happily for the next 49 years. I had two more career moves, firstly to be General Manager of a printed-circuit manufacturing company called Graphic, and then a complete change to become Practice Manager of a solicitor’s practice.  That saw me through the last 17 years of employment before I moved into full-time retirement via self-employed consultancy work.

“Cricket remained very much part of my life. Wherever I lived – South Wales, Buckinghamshire or Devon – I played every summer weekend. In Devon it was for Thorverton CC in the leading Devon league. I had to stop eventually when my hips gave out in my 50s, although I managed to umpire for a few more years before replacement hips came along.”

Tributes poured in from the Devon cricket world after Robin’s death. According to a notice posted on its website by Thorverton CC, he joined the club in 1977 when he moved to Exeter and happened to take lodgings in the village. He was soon playing for the club in the Devon A league, coaching a Colts team and later leading the 2nd XI for many years in order to give young players the opportunity of competitive cricket on a Saturday.

Fondly known as the “Laughing Lancashire man,” Robin gave nothing away on the field of play and also had the knack of getting the best out of his teammates. “Not without an opinion or two which he was often happy to share,” he stayed in contact with the club long after his retirement from playing. He was, said a former teammate on Facebook, “a very clever and competitive cricketer (with) a unique brand of guile.” Another added: “A terrific bloke.”