Hail the Gallant, a tribute to Mr Linlithgow Rose Davie Roy

Born in the family home in Main Street, Linlithgow Bridge, on August 22, 1932, Davie was one of eight children and was the last surviving.

Educated at West Port Public School then Linlithgow Academy, aged 14 he started his working life as an apprentice fitter with GR Steins brickworks in Whitecross, where he went on to become works engineering manager until his retirement in 1994.

Davie met Rosina (nee Devlin) at the Town Hall dancing. They married at St Michael’s RC Church on February 15, 1958, with the reception in the Masonic Hall. They set up home at Haining Terrace, Whitecross, with Rosina working at the local paper mill.

In April 1962, their daughter Jacqueline was born. The family moved to St Ninian’s Way in 1975, then to Avonmill View, Linlithgow Bridge, in 1984 where Davie stayed all his days.

Away from football, he loved cars and was known to change his model every 18 months. Sundays were always family days, when they would enjoy drives up north.

In addition to football, Davie enjoyed many other sports – favourites being the grand prix, snooker and cricket.

He also loved to be in the garden, although Rosina made it clear she was in charge of that!

Summer holidays were spent in St Ives, Cornwall and, in later years, they enjoyed holidays abroad – their favourite being the Greek islands.

Jacqueline married Pat in 1991; their daughter Nicole was born in August 1994 and was the apple of Davie’s eye. She has many happy memories of her grandad.

Sadly, Rosina passed away suddenly in March 1999. Davie was awarded an MBE in December that year for services to football. The family travelled down to Buckingham Palace where he received his MBE from the Queen. It was a very proud moment for them all.

Another highlight in Davie’s calendar was the Marches, in which he participated for many years.

Since news of Davie’s passing on Monday night, aged 91, hundreds of messages have been posted on Facebook paying tribute.

Jacqueline said: “Pat, Nicole and I have been overwhelmed with everyone’s kind messages and support at this very sad time.

“We’d also like to extend thanks to Linlithgow Rose Football Club and the wider football community.

“Dad loved his football but family always came first. He was always doing so much for us. We are so lucky to have had him in our lives and he will be sadly missed.”

The funeral details have yet to be confirmed.

Davie will undoubtedly also be remembered as the forthright, no-nonsense secretary who served at Linlithgow Rose FC in that role for an incredibe 50 years.

When he joined the club in 1959, there was just £4 in the accounts and the club was in danger of folding. By 1965, Davie and the committee had turned its fortunes around and were celebrating the first Scottish Junior Cup win.

The committee chose the team with trainer Jimmy Ryce; Davie carried a lot of influence in the selection and was over the moon to bring the cup home.

He had to wait a further 37 years to see the Rose win the cup again, with manager Jim Sinnet in 2002 and then again in 2007. By 2010, under manager David Baikie, Jim Harkins was secretary but Davie was still very much involved in the club.

President Jon Mahoney said: “The word legend is overused in football but there is no other word to describe Davie.

“He’s one of the few to have a stand named after him before his passing – Alex Ferguson at Man U, Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool and Davie Roy at Linlithgow.”

The stand was unveiled by then First Minister Henry McLeish in 2000.

Jon said: “He was quietly delighted about it; Davie was a modest man but 23 years ago we already knew his value to the club.”

As a past president of the SJFA, other clubs often saught out his advice too.

“Any number of people will tell you that if they had a problem and didn’t know what to do, Davie Roy was the man to ask,” said Jon.

His ingenuity saw much of the club's infrastructure given a helping hand by the brickworks and his record-keeping was incredible too.

Jon added: “Teams used to play no matter the weather; Davie once went to Stobie’s shoe shop to borrow baseball boots – the Rose won against Saltcoats who were skidding on the ice!

“One of his committee colleagues said in all the years he knew him, he never won an argument against Davie as he’d pull out the rule book and say: there it is in black and white! But he never held a grudge and even managers and players he had to let go never had a bad word to say about him.

“He also had an encyclopedic knowledge and kept meticulous records.

“As the club come to terms with the end of an era, our thoughts are with Jacqueline, Pat, Nicole and all his friends and family.

“Hail The Gallant, Davie – yours was a life well lived. And we're all the better for having known you.”