David Robertson RIP

[Ptarmigan]

Very sad to hear that David Robertson has passed.
Although I never met him, he sold me my Baritone Treble, 14 years ago & I have been in touch with him a few times since then, looking for spare parts & advice & I always found him to be very helpful & generous to a fault.
Clearly the Concertina community has lost one of its finest ambassadors.
Sincere condolences to his family & all his close friends.

[Alex West]

Likewise, I never met David but always appreciated his posts and his fine workmanship.  Sad to hear

 

Alex West

[RAc]

Oh, no! I had my Crane serviced by him and met up with him at his home in Norwich to pick it up (Albeit a good number of years back). A decent fellow and a fine craftsman. Very sad to hear that. All the best wishes to his family

[Geoff Wooff]

Very  sad  news.  

David  made  a   fine  bellows  for  me    a  short  few  years  ago.

Condolences  to  his  family  and  friends.

[xgx]

I had the pleasure of buying 2 'tinas from David at his home on both occasions, luvly man,great coffee and craic.

I hope the fact that he was an accomplished artisan and well respected in the world of Concertinas, brings some comfort to his Family to whom I extend my Condolences.

 

[rcr27]

So sad to hear, I had the pleasure to meet and deal with him a couple of times. Had all the intentions to send him an edeophone baritone that I’m sure he would have loved to get his hands on.
 

Condolences to his family and loved ones. 

[Richard Mellish]

Very sorry to hear this. David overhauled two concertinas for me a few years ago. One was a Koot Brits Anglo which was something of a mongrel made of miscellaneous Wheatstone and Lachenal parts, some of them bodged to fit. It will never be a great instrument but it came back from David in much better shape than it had been.

[Greg Jowaisas]

An impressive craftsman and by all accounts and limited personal experience, a fine fellow and gentleman.  A sad passing.

He will be missed.

[d.elliott]

A Fine Craftsman, always helpful, a sad loss to the concertina community.

 

 

[Robin Harrison]

Just picked this up......so sorry to hear of his death.

    I too had never met him but had many interactions with him.

A massive, massive loss to the concertina repair world.

   My story with Dave.......................I bought a cracker of a 48 Wheatstone Aeola off eBay.

    In all regards it seemed  astonishly good condition. We both believed the ends had never been taken off since it's buils in 1926.

                BUT all the leather on the bellows and thumb straps and the metal end plates  were covered thickly in a green waxy substance, such that you could scrape it off with a fingernail.

    I sent the bellows to him and asked if he could repair them..... at first glance they looked lovely but he reporrted to me that every time he tried to work on them they just crumbled.

              We neither of us had an explanation but he said he could not replair them but needed replace them.

            I asked him to go ahead and to my astonishment the bellows he made for me were every bit as good as any original Wheatstone bellows I have owned......they are fantastic and easily match the first class quality that is the Aeola..

        A nice man and an excellent bellows maker.

Robin