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Roy Harden

Roy Harden - the former head concierge of Oxford's Randolph Hotel and affectionately know by many as Roy of the Randolph - has died aged 77.

Mr Harden worked at the Oxford hotel for 50 years, rubbing shoulders with world leaders and Hollywood actors.

Originally from Towcester, in Northamptonshire, he moved to Oxford when he was nine after his father got a job working as a signalman on the railway.

He stayed on at school until he was 15, leaving to take up a job at the Randolph, in Beaumont Street, on his birthday.

He went on to hold various positions, including page boy, the garage service manager, head porter and finally concierge.

When he was made head concierge in 1977, he was the only person to hold the position in a hotel outside London.

His time at the hotel also saw him befriending one of Oxford's most famous authors, Colin Dexter, and he would go on to appear in his novel The Jewel That Was Ours and several short stories.

Recognised for his work to the hotel industry, Mr Harden went on to become a member of the Society of Golden Keys - an organisation for concierges worldwide.

And in 1990 he was awarded the British Empire Medal for his service to the industry by the then Lord Lieutenant of Oxford, Sir Ashley Ponsonby.

Away from the hotel Mr Harden enjoyed a happy marriage with his wife Veronica, whom he met while on holiday in Blackpool in 1965.

Mrs Harden said: "I was sitting in the hotel by myself and he came and asked me if I wanted to play dominoes with him and some other people.

"That was it after that, it was a whirlwind holiday romance."

Despite the fact Mrs Harden was living in Manchester, the couple would regularly visit one another and two years after their game of dominoes the couple were married.

They moved to their home in Austin Place, Abingdon, where they would go on to raise their family following the birth of their two sons, Graham and Neil.

Mrs Harden said: "Roy always had a joke and would make everyone laugh all the time.

"He would make friends so easily, striking up conversations with people when he opened a door for them.

"When we would go away on holiday I would leave him for five minutes and would often come back and find him talking to people."

Mr Harden passed away on Friday, April 4, after losing a two-year battle with cancer.

His funeral was held yesterday, where a eulogy was read by Inspector Morse creator Mr Dexter.

8:32pm Wednesday 16th April 2008

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