'It will take 10 people to fill Barry's shoes' (From Gazette & Herald)

'It will take 10 people to fill Barry's shoes'

AFTER being synonymous with the life of Kirkbymoorside for more than 30 years, Barry Brook is waving a fond farewell to the town.

His work for the market town and many organisations has been legion, ranging from the town council to his latest venture, pioneering a local history group.

Barry and his family moved to Ryedale from Teesside in 1972 when he became a teacher of science and chemistry at Ryedale School.

His first links with Kirkbymoorside were through the judo club which his two children attended, and his wife Barbara became a supervisor at the playgroup in Westfield.

"At school, I quickly became involved in out-of-class activities," recalls Barry. He ran a lunchtime chess club for 20 years and when the PTA bought a bus for the school, he was one of four teachers to get a PSV licence, taking youngsters to sporting and out-of-school visits over a wide area.

He was later to drive a regular school bus from Gillamoor and Fadmoor and still does so, after 27 years.

Becoming involved in The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme through school absorbed much of his spare time, organising outdoor groups, including first-aid courses, which triggered an involvement spanning several years with the Kirkbymoorside Red Cross.

In 1979, he found himself elected to the town council and his involvement with a wider aspect of life in the market town began, becoming footpaths officer, overseeing the 43 public paths in and around the town - a role he still performs.

In the early 1980s, the council shared Barry's enthusiasm for a newsletter to keep residents informed of events and issues in Kirkbymoorside, and The Moorsider, which started as a four-page circular published three times a year, has now become a 12-page publication, issued four times annually. Barry has edited more than 50 editions.

He became a leader of the fundraising campaign for the playground at Old Road and, later, another at Ryedale View.

On retiring from teaching in 1993, he became a keen squash player and was involved in orienteering with the Ebor Club in York.

"It is an excellent sport and takes place in many of the woods in northern Ryedale," says Barry, whose weekends were spent as controller and events organiser.

His enthusiasm for gardening saw him take an allotment at the town council's site in Kirby Mills and later at Gillamoor Road, where he successfully led the fight to stop the site being sold for housing development.

He is now heading the campaign, as secretary of the Kirkbymoorside Allotments' Association, for the 78 gardens to be bought by compulsory purchase to ensure their long-term future.

It was not long before his gardening and public life skills were recognised by fellow gardeners in the town and he became chairman of the Horticultural Society.

Charity work played a key part in his life when he became a member of the Ryedale Lions Club for 16 years, then became secretary of the local Amnesity International group.

Barry's fascination with Kirkbymoorside, its way of life and history, resulted in him preserving the tales of older residents, which were handed on to the Ryedale Folk Museum.

From that idea grew the idea of creating a larger sound archive, and Barry, together with fellow enthusiasts, including historian and photographer Robin Butler, produced a 12-volume history, providing more than 300 copies a month, which were all quickly snapped up by residents.

"The research we did resulted in a large archive of material," says Barry.

"Being Yorkshiremen, we hated the thought of having no further use for it, so it was decided to form a family history group using the archive of parish records and census details from 1841 to 1901," he said.

The whole project archive will eventually be stored for reference at the folk museum.

He is also secretary of the Kirkbymoorside Community Office in Crown Square and even finds time in his busy life to help ring the peal of bells at All Saints' Church.

However, Barry and Barbara are moving from their centuries-old home in Crown Square to Driffield, where he hopes to get involved in its life. "I can't ever see me retiring - I enjoy life and getting involved with the community I live in."

Town mayor Coun Nigel Richardson said: "Barry has been a tremendous stalwart of life in Kirkbymoorside. He is a much-respected member of the community, an indefatigable worker for the town in so many ways, as well as being a most charming man. He is going to be sorely missed, but everyone wishes him and his family every success and happiness in the future."

Coun Richardson, who was taught by Mr Brook at Ryedale School, said: "It will take 10 people to fill Barry's shoes in Kirkbymoorside. He has been of tremendous value to the council and the community. It will only be when he has left the town that people will realise just what a contribution he made to it and how hard he worked."

Updated: 10:55 Wednesday, June 08, 2005