Robert was my younger brother by 3 years. A beautiful chubby baby with white blond hair and a real doll for me to play with! A few years later sister Sandra completed the family. Our mother was in a very unhappy marriage and was at times mentally unstable, hospitalised and did not cope well with running a home and family. Despite that Robert was fun, always up to schoolboy pranks, and had a wicked sense of humour. We got into some scapes🤣

When he was 8 years old our mother left home after having a nervous breakdown leaving us with our dad. When he was 10 he was rushed to hospital and after many months of intensive care and therapy he had to face the fact that he was crippled with polio. He spent many years in a childrens ward at Stannington sanatorium with his Dad and sisters visiting at the weekends. When finally he did come home he found it hard to settle back into a family setting and so in his early 20's he found a flat and lived on his own. Robert always made friends easily and enjoyed his favorite football team Newcastle United with a passion (and a pint). In his 40's he moved across the Tyne and lived in Prudhoe. His medical conditions were many and complex, but he still had his independence in a little flat and loved his car, an adapted Volkswagen Scirocco. His mobility was quickly deteriorating and in his last year of life he phoned me frequently and was keen to visit places afar and was hoping to get out to Spain and visit a friend. Sadly he only managed a weekend in Milton Keynes to visit me just days before he died. As an early birthday celebration we had a family meal out at a local hotel. He had hugs and handshakes that weekend and I am so glad I told him he was always loved as he had felt unwanted for most of his life. Miss his dry wit, and his laugh out loud humour.