Stan Roocroft

Stan Roocroft MBE
Stan Roocroft lives at Gayle near Hawes with his wife Barbara and I think is probably best known for his conducting qualities within the Yorkshire Dales.

It may surprise you to learn that he wears many more hats than this.

Stan originates from Blackburn in Lancashire and I must say "their loss is our gain."
As a young chorister in 1953 he sang with 32 other boys at the Queens Coronation Ceremony.

In 1957 he was at Bretton Hall College, Leeds where he met his wife Barbara.
Barbara and Stan took up teaching posts in Wakefield, Stan eventually becoming Head of Music Services for the Education Department in Sheffield.

Stan and his wife moved to Wensleydale in 1975. He said he received invites to join a choir performance and band practice on the same day he moved to North Yorkshire.

Stan Roocroft is President of the Wensleydale Tournament of Song, conductor of Hawes Silver Band, the Gayle chapel choir, and the Wensleydale Philharmonic Orchestra.
In September he takes up a role as conductor of Aysgarth Choral Society.
He is also an adjudicator for the British and International Federation of Music Festivals.

As a Part-time community development officer with the Yorkshire Rural Community Council, Stan is responsible for helping villages and towns across Wensleydale aquire funding for local projects.
He also helps parish councils prepare local plans and is involved with the Upper Wensleydale Community Investment Prospectus.

This truly amazing man has recently been awarded the MBE. Stan says of the award it is not just for myself but for all the communities within the Yorkshire Dales that I have had the pleasure of working along side.

Bainbridge Sports 2005