Kingswinford man leaves huge £1.4m donation to RNLI charity in his will - here's why

Roy Holloway, who was born and raised in the Black Country, passed away in June 2014.

Holidays to the seaside were uncommon for Roy and, despite his legacy donation being left to a lifeboat charity, he is said to have had little awareness of the RNLI.

That was until one Christmas when a friend sent him a card with a lifeboat on the front. 

The card featured a bright orange boat battling rough seas. 

The grandfather and expert pianist apparently liked the card so much that he brought it out every Christmas to display on his piano.

A professional musician, Roy's skill was to accompany other artists and musicians who knew him as 'the tall chap'. 

When the artists knew he was accompanying them they were 'put at ease' - Roy could play anything from the moment he saw a sheet of music, and had a repertoire stored in his mind.

As well as being an expert musician, Mr Holloway was a teacher, a mentor, and a surrogate grandfather, working right until the end. He was described as a 'young man at heart' and in his latter years would often say: "Whatever you do, don’t get old”. 

Roy’s family said they were surprised at how much money he had saved up in his life. Although he had a modest upbringing and did not spend money on himself, he had amassed around £1.8 million in his lifetime.

Mr Holloway mentioned to family before his passing that he would leave ‘a little something’ to the RNLI, as he admired the 'work and bravery' of the crews. Little did they know he left nearly everything he had to the charity.

Richard Cartwright friend of Roy, said: "We were astonished to discover how much money Roy had saved during his lifetime. He never spent money on himself but was always generous to others. When we found out that he left that majority of his savings to the RNLI, we were so proud of him. We knew he had a great admiration for the charity, so it made perfect sense.

"Roy would never have asked for a boat to be named after him, but sometimes we need to make a fuss of the ones we love. 

"His legacy will protect people he has never known and give Arklow’s brave volunteers the ability to perform their lifesaving duties. 

"Roy lived an extraordinary life, and now due to his gift, others in trouble at sea will have an opportunity to live a life as long, and happy as he did."

His huge £1.4m donation has contributed towards a Shannon class lifeboat at Ireland-based RNLI in Arklow. 

It was funded by a number of legacies but the naming rights donor was Kingswinford's Mr Roy Holloway. 

The lifeboat has therefore been named after him, and arrived at Arklow RNLI Lifeboat Station in October.