'Local heroes' are honoured by firm

Oct 29 2002 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE MEMORY of Scholes-born entertainer Roy Castle, and three other former Huddersfield celebrities, have been immortalised at a new conference centre at chemical firm Syngenta.

Fiona Castle, wife of the former Record Breakers star, officially opened the centre at The Forum, Leeds Road, Huddersfield.

Rooms have been named after Roy, former prime minister Harold Wilson, actor James Mason and honorary Yorkshireman, actor Bill Owen, star of the TV series Last of the Summer Wine.

In opening the conference centre, Mrs Castle spoke of her delight at the tribute to her husband.

"I am absolutely thrilled that he is being remembered, eight years after his death," she said.

"It is incredible. He was so proud of his roots and loved this area. He never forgot his home."

Mrs Castle said Roy was born in a `one-up and one-down' and would joke that the bath was brought out on a Friday, `whether they needed it or not'."

"He felt as though he was a king," revealed Mrs Castle.

"He did not believe that anybody had had a better life than he had, which is a wonderful tribute to his parents.

"He felt that his one failure was that he never played cricket for Yorkshire," she said.