JIM ROBERTS 1932-2020 COLLINSON

James (Jim) Roberts (MHS 45-50) was born in Liverpool, where his parents originated from, on 25th June 1932. His father’s company moved the family to Harrow soon afterwards where his brother John (MHS 48-53) was born in 1934. Jim attended primary school in Harrow, however, the family moved to Hayes in 1937 when he went to Pinkwell Lane School and from there he won a scholarship to Drayton Manor Grammar school in 1943.

Jim’s parents couldn’t afford to educate him privately, but in 1945 he was fortunate enough to be awarded a place at Mill Hill School, as part of the Middlesex Scheme. When he first started at MHS, in Collinson House, Jim was passionate about football and was punished on numerous occasions for playing with a football in the school grounds. Before long, however, he ‘saw the light’ and applied his incredible sporting talent to playing rugby, cricket, hockey (including single-handed hockey) and athletics, representing the school across a wide range of sports with a considerable level of excellence. He was part of the famous school 1st XV in 1948/49 and 49/50 which only conceded two tries over the two seasons and which boasted future England Internationals Jim at fly half (18 caps) and Johnny Williams at scrum half (9 caps).

Jim left Mill Hill in December 1950 and in January 1951 was posted to Catterick for his National Service with the Royal Signals. During his service period, the length of National Service was increased; however, in 1952 he was fortunate enough to be discharged and start at Christ’s College, Cambridge to study Engineering. Whilst at Cambridge he won three Blues as centre (1952) and wing (1953 & 1954).

Upon leaving Cambridge Jim started working for OTIS in London and played rugby for the Old Millhillians, London,

Middlesex. He also played a few games for both Paris University Club and Llanelli and had a number of England trials.

In 1958 he married Marianne Dunne, the young Irish model he had been introduced to by Tony O’Reilly, moving to Manchester in 1960 so he could take up the position of Sales Director at Weston Evans. It was at this point he started playing at Sale Rugby Club.

In 1960 having played the final trial at Twickenham and on their way back to Manchester, Marianne suggested it was possibly time to consider giving up on his dream of playing for England as he was now 28. In order to change the conversation, Jim switched on the radio, only to hear that he had been selected for his debut International match against Wales at Twickenham; a game England won 14-6 and in which he scored two tries!

Jim went onto play another 17 consecutive matches for England until his final appearance against Wilson Whineray’s touring All Blacks team in January 1964, a game that England lost 0-14. Jim carried on playing for Sale until he retired in 1965.

One of the most memorable and talked about England matches that Jim played in was at Cardiff Arms Park in 1963… the following report gives some idea of the conditions that day:

“Still in living memory is the scarcely less remarkable match of 1963, played amid a winter that the Met Office reckoned the coldest since the 1740s with huge piles of straw close to the touchlines and a collection of agricultural equipment, including three tractors, behind the goal at the Taff End. It was too cold to train outside and Wales’s new half-backs were forbidden to use a ball in the gym at Newport, had to practice with a rolled-up tracksuit.

The match was as chaotic as you might expect, with frozen hands dropping passes and players skidding haplessly past the ball as they attempted to pick up. Amid it all was one truly great moment - England’s first-half try. Wing Jim Roberts threw a long line-out on his own 25, centre Mike Weston gathered and passed on to partner Malcolm Phillips. He scissored with wing Peter Jackson, who passed rapidly back near halfway. Phillips, given a small overlap, made it all the way to the line in the face of an icy wind. It would have been some score in good conditions. On an icefield it was little short of miraculous and the key moment in the 13-6 victory by an England team featuring seven new caps, including the entire front five.”

This match was famous (or infamous) for being the last time an England team beat Wales at Cardiff for a period of 25 years. In 1988 Courage, the then sponsors of the Six Nations, arranged for the team to reunite for a photo to replicate the team picture from 1963.

In July 1960 Jim and Marianne had their first child Guy (MHS 73-78), followed by Karen (MHS 79-81) in May 1963, Fiona (MHS 80-82) in October 1964 and Windsor (MHS 79-85) in July 1966.

Jim continued to enjoy a healthy and engaged relationship with Mill Hill School since the last of his children left and fulfilled many roles between 1992 and 2006 including Chair of Governors, various functions on the Mill Hill School Foundation Committee and as President of the Old Millhillians Club. More recently he organised the OMS Cambridge Dinner over a number of years.

Jim and Marianne separated in 1982 and Jim went on to remarry in 2001, where he lived a quiet life in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. He had a close relationship with his four children and nine granddaughters, Hannah, Katie & Millie (Fiona), Mane & Dana (Guy), Laura & Becca (Karen) and Elise & Bea (Windsor).

Guy Roberts