Roger Blackmore (1956)

Roger was a boarder at Abingdon in the 1950s, following in the footsteps of his father and his uncle, Benn Blackmore and John Blackmore, who attended the school in the 1920s.

He lived on the family farm in North Devon until he left in 1960 to read for a degree in politics at the University of Leicester. Here he met his future wife, Hilary. Together they had three children.

Roger pursued a career as a college lecturer, but his abiding passion was active politics. He wanted things to be better, be it in housing, employment, education, and particularly the environment. (Long before the idea became popular, he was advocating alternative sources of energy to fossil fuels.) He realised that the only way change could happen was by doing something through active politics. He was a tireless campaigner with the Liberal Party and later the Liberal Democrats.

Roger stood for Parliament six times; he was a County Councillor, a City Councillor, Chairman of the East Midlands Liberal Democrats, Leader of Leicester City Council, and Lord Mayor of Leicester, his adopted city.

Interestingly, during his period of office, Roger received a letter from Simon Balderson, Master in charge of Debating at Abingdon, regarding the School Debating Society. In reply, Roger said he had fond memories of debates at Abingdon in the 1950s. The experience gave him an excellent grounding in public speaking and discussion; as well as going on to win public speaking competitions at regional and national levels, Roger was a skilful orator in the political arena.

He also found time for freelance writing and had articles published on travel in the UK, local history, and political ideas and discourse.

Roger died peacefully on 6 September 2024. Those attending his funeral, alongside his family, were from all shades of the political spectrum and also reflected the diverse population of Leicester that he had been so proud and privileged to serve.

Hilary Blackmore