The Salopian no. 157 - Winter 2015

OLD SALOPIAN NEWS 73
involved in a project started by Simon Warner, a landscape
architect, which culminated in an exhibition at the Royal
Geographical Society. In a final demonstration of the
‘can do’ mentality, he managed to attend the opening in
Kensington. It was a triumphant occasion at the end of
a long career. Jay Appleton is remembered both for his
academic distinction and for his devotion to the family for
which he did so much.
Ian Boston (R 1952-57)
Ian Boston was born in Liverpool in February 1939 and
brought up in Cheshire. He left Rigg’s as Praepostor and
Head of House, and then went to the Leather Sellers’
College in London. He spent several years in the West
Country working for a glove manufacturer in Yeovil, where
he met his future wife Margaret, before joining the family
tanning business in Liverpool. In 1975 he moved to Louth
in Lincolnshire, to manage another tannery in the group,
and subsequently bought it when the parent company went
into liquidation in the late 1990s. This is now one the few
tanneries still in operation in the UK.
Ian was an enthusiastic cricketer in his early days and
maintained that interest all his life. He also enjoyed good
art and loved the visual and tactile qualities of beautiful
things made of wood or leather, but his main passions were
birds, the countryside and nature conservation, and music.
Appreciative of anything from the early Renaissance through
to Gilbert and Sullivan, Ian sang in choirs throughout his
life. He became much involved in running the local Wildlife
Trust and Choral Society, and was Church Warden at his
church in South Cockerington for many years.
He was a selfless, humble, gentle man with a wry sense
of humour and a gift for being able to get on with anyone
and everyone he met, being genuinely interested in them.
He was liked and respected by all and much loved by his
large extended family. He died just before Christmas 2014,
leaving behind his wife Margaret, daughter Mary, son and
daughter-in-law Adam and Anitha, and grandson Akil. He
will be very sadly missed by family and friends alike.
Robert (Bob) Dowty (SH 1945-50)
Robert (Bob) Dowty, who died on 28th July 2015 at the
age of 85, was a well-known figure in the Isle of Man,
where he had a long-standing connection with the sport of
motorcycling. Born in Douglas in 1931, he was educated
at the High School in the island’s capital, before moving to
Shrewsbury just after the end of the war. He enjoyed his
time in Shropshire and right at the end of his life he spoke
with fondness of the Hunt runs through the countryside.
After Shrewsbury, he did the statutory two years of National
Service in the Royal Artillery, a connection he maintained
with a further voluntary 12 years in the Territorial Army, just
one example of his public-spirited contribution.
Busy and generous with his time though he was, Bob
Dowty never neglected his family and he is remembered
with the warmest affection. Holidays in France brought
particular joy, as he could combine his love of the
countryside with uninterrupted family time.
He lived long, he achieved much, he enjoyed life. These
were the words with which his son John opened his funeral
address. That this life was of benefit to others is abundantly
clear from what has been written and said about him. “Sad
passing of a good friend to motorcycling,” ran the headline
in the ‘Isle of Man Examiner’. Not only motorcycling has
cause to mourn.
On leaving the Army, he spent two years learning the motor
trade with Humber in Coventry, prior to returning to the
Isle of Man to start up his own business, the Island Garages
group, which he was to run for the next 30 years.
Even before he had left school, he had fallen for the sport
of motorcycle racing, a day at the Manx Grand Prix having
cast its spell. When he was old enough, he bought a
Douglas 90 plus model, which he raced for the first time
in 1951. He then invested in a more powerful machine,
a Manx Norton, which he named ‘Sally’, on which he
competed, with some success, as an amateur rider, both in
the Island and in mainland UK. In 1959, the combination of
an accident in a race and the responsibility of impending
marriage brought his career as a competitor to an end,
but he remained an active supporter as an administrator.
President of the Manx Grand Prix Riders Association and of
the Southern 100 MCRC, at his death he was honoured with
a page of tributes in a local paper.
On selling his garage business, he took on a number of
directorships, working well into his seventies and finding
time to do much charitable work. He was also a Justice of
the Peace and for a time was Chairman of the Isle of Man
Magistrates Association.