A Tribute to Charles Ian Leach (1942 – 2013)

L M Barber writes:
On Remembrance Sunday 2013 the Dalesmen Singers lost a valued member with the sudden death of Ian Leach.
Ian first came to know and love Whitby when he visited on holidays from his childhood home in Bradford. When he was 15 the family moved to Torquay where his father opened a newsagents and tobacconists business. Ian soon got involved in the business himself and by 1968 he was married to Adrienne and they were running the business together. As the years went by Ian was struggling to find time to spend with his growing daughters. He was getting up at 5.30 every morning to see to the paper rounds and have the shop open in time to catch the early morning trade. All it took was a revisit to Whitby in 1978 to spur them to pursue their dream of opening “a little guest house in Whitby”; by the following year the Waverley Guest House was up and running under their management, and became a great success. They reluctantly retired in 2006 but many of their guests never forgot them. More than 20 former guests made a point of travelling to Whitby for Ian’s funeral.
Ian had been a singer ever since his days as a choirboy in Bradford (St Barnabas Church, Heaton),  and he would often recall that he had been chosen at the age of 10 to sing a solo treble part for a professional performance of The King & I at the Alhambra Theatre! It is not surprising then that he was talent-scouted for the (then) Whitby Operatic Society in 1985. He did 9 seasons with them, culminating with a performance of The King & I, this time as a guard. Unfortunately, he was having increasing problems with his legs, which made it too painful to cavort on stage as he would have liked. His first knee operation was at the age of 19 when, as a keen and competent cross-country runner and footballer, he was faced with a choice between a serious knee operation or giving up sport. Needless to say he chose the operation, but, sadly, he was never able to play for his team again. Over the years he underwent 3 more operations on his knees and 2 on his hips. Despite this, he never let the pain put him off making the most of his life.
In fact, in 1993 the Operatic Society’s loss became the Dalesmen Singers’ gain and Ian soon established himself in the front row of the first tenors. Though he was a quiet and unassuming man, those who got to know him appreciated him for his warmth, friendliness and good humour. He took seriously the business of learning his parts and was often to be heard singing the songs around the house. So much so that his grandson, Liam (now 14), reckons he now knows a good deal of the repertoire off by heart. (Good for you, Liam – we’re keeping a seat in Danby warm for you for a few years hence!). Ian attended DS events as often as he could, though his lameness restricted him from joining the longer-range trips. As his grandchildren put it (sympathetically!) in their poem for his funeral:
We felt for our Gramps when he hobbled,
But not so much when he’d had too many Black Sheep and wobbled.
So, farewell Ian! It’s been a pleasure to know you and you will be sadly missed.
Our thoughts go out to Adrienne, daughters, Becca and Claire, and grandchildren Chloe, Fay and Liam.