Tribute paid to manager of Bury St Edmunds attractions Rollerbury and Reflex, Royal Marine commando and family man Ian Laidlaw, who has died aged 85

Tribute has been paid to the former manager and director of a Bury St Edmunds rollerskating rink and nightclub, whose life was ‘one big adventure’.

Ian Laidlaw, who died on March 15 aged 85, will be remembered by many for his roles at Rollerbury and Reflex, but he was born thousands of miles away in Bombay – once being touched by Ghandi during the upheaval in India after World War Two – before boarding a ship to England.

“Via Weymouth, Ipswich and then Felixstowe, he had many adventures,” said his son Jeff, who described his father as a character and ‘someone who left a big footprint in life’.

As a youngster Ian was a butcher’s delivery boy and, as a sea cadet, used a boat to help rescue people in Felixstowe during the floods of 1953.

Aged 15, he joined the Royal Marines as a bugler and drummer – becoming notorious in his family for playing the bugle at inappropriate times – and later trained as a commando.

“To say Dad loved being a Royal Marine is an understatement. He lived and breathed it and was fiercely loyal to his band of brothers. It was second only to the love of his family,” said Jeff.

It was a career which took Ian and his family – he married Rita in 1961 and was father to Jackie and Jeff – around the world, including Malta, Singapore and Cyprus. During his service, jungle warfare expert Ian went on memorable deployments to the jungles of Borneo and Brunei and the Suez crisis.

Meanwhile, in the late 1970s Ian – who was known as Jake within the Marines and as Jock to his family – was champion shot of the Royal Marines and Royal Navy, winning the Queen’s Medal twice.

After becoming a sergeant major and retiring aged 40, Ian and his family returned to Felixstowe, where he worked for a transport company before working for a crane construction company – a role which led to a contract in Saudi Arabia.

It was while Ian was in Saudi Arabia that Rita spotted a job advert, placed by Rollerbury owner Roger Williams, for a manager for the new Bury attraction in a converted railway storage depot.

“My mum and dad actually met rollerskating in Felixstowe in the 1950s,” said Jeff. “So he applied for the job and I think Roger liked the fact my dad could manage people. The rest is history.”

Taking the Rollerbury job meant breaking his contract in Saudi Arabia – an act which meant Ian was then barred from entering the country again.

“Dad worked with some brilliant characters at Rollerbury and Reflex, the nightclub next door. It was the national rollerskating headquarters so we had all the top skaters train there and a roller hockey team. It was a lot of fun – good times,” said Jeff.

The company expanded to other rollerskating rinks, including in Peterborough, Nottingham and Milton Keynes – Jeff’s sister Jackie met her husband Jason at the Milton Keynes rink – and nightclubs, including the Colchester Hippodrome.

Following his career with Rollers, Ian became front of house manager at the Theatre Royal. Then, when he retired he quickly became bored, so took on a role as a car salesman for Hawkes, when it was based in St Andrew’s Street North.

“I thought he didn’t know anything about cars, but he did alright, he liked to talk to people and he was one of those people who was always doing stuff,” said Jeff. “If you met him, you’d remember him.”

Jeff said his dad could be ‘the life and soul of the party’, while he was also known for his ‘subtle’ approach to DIY; his uncanny resemblance to Ernie Wise; his love of the film Zulu and his tendency to side with an underdog. Jeff also recalled his dad buying a motorcycle aged 65 and the pair racing to Felixstowe and back.

In more recent years Ian was a regular poppy seller outside Tesco, while he also supported Marie Curie.

Ian, who was a ‘loving husband’ to Rita, also leaves grandchildren Rebecca, Ellen and Josh.

His funeral will be held at the Abbey Chapel at West Suffolk Crematorium on April 4, 1.30pm, with a Royal Marines bugler coming up from Portmouth to play the Last Post. Family flowers only, donations to Cancer Research UK.