A FITTING tribute now honours one of Saddleworth’s ‘remarkable sons’ after a blue plaque to Roger Tanner was unveiled.
Members of the area’s Round Table and 41 Club decided to pay tribute to the man who died aged 100 and had such an impact on the place he called home.
Now the honour sits on a wall of the Uppermill museum he founded and family members agree it shows how high a regard the man described as ‘incomparable’ was held.
Nephew Frederick, who was joined at the unveiling ceremony by Roger’s niece Rosemary and cousin John, told Saddleworth Independent: “It shows the respect Roger was held in, both by the groups and the community.
“And it’s very nice that they thought to do something about it.
“It’s a source of pride for the family. We’re very proud, it’s a great honour. Not many people have an uncle honoured in this way.
“This is particularly for his work with Round Table and the 41 Club but it also says, ‘and in general for his works.’
“It was a great joint effort and a very generous one too.”
The ceremony, held inside Saddleworth Museum on Friday, April 12, saw the Reverend John Sykes, chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II and wife Anne, a former Deputy Lieutenant of Manchester, speak of a ‘talented, modest, impish, whimsical’ man.
The Rev Sykes said: “He may have said, ‘What’s all the fuss about?’ but he never realised his impact. We have very happy memories of our time with Roger.”
Anne added how travelling to events with Roger, who himself was named a Deputy Lieutenant in 1979, showed her the way.
She said: “He served his community so well and he was so well respected. It was wonderful to learn from that experience.”
And stood next to a painting of him wearing his trademark bow tie, the Saddleworth flag – on a darker shade of blue than a Yorkshire flag – was removed to reveal the plaque designed by University of Leicester student Holly Fletcher.
But it would not have been possible without the hard work of Alan Fletcher, who organised both the plaque’s making and unveiling.
He said: “Firstly, you’ve got to find out who’s going to make the plaque, so I looked on the internet and there’s a firm called Sign of the Times.
“They were totally brilliant, they said, ‘Tell us what you want and we’ll make it.’
“So, Holly designed it and it was approved by the local authority, the family, Saddleworth 41 Club and Saddleworth Round Table.
“I said, ‘Get on with it, get it made.’ Then it was a matter of finding somewhere to put it and someone to put it up.
“And if you’re going to do something outside in Saddleworth, you have to know it’s going to be a nice day.
“We came up the week before and the wind was howling and it was raining, so we decided to do it inside.”
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