I am devastated to report that Garry died on Tuesday evening, 5th December 2023.
His step daughter told me that he was without pain at the end and died peacefully in hospital.
A light has gone out in the 009 world.
Thank you for letting everyone know Hugh.
As you say, a great loss to the hobby overall and from my own personal perspective, a passing of someone who has been a good friend through thick and thin for nearly 40 years.
Very sad news which, while those of us who knew him were aware that Garry was on limited time, it has still come as a bit of a shock that it happened so quickly after seeing him in good spirits at Statfold.
Mick
Very sad news indeed, and a massive loss to our hobby and the society.
His knowledge about the history of the society including early society events was unparalleled.
He was member No.15.
Obviously my thoughts are with his family and all those that are many in number that knew him as a friend.
I am very sad to hear this. He was a great friend to ScOONs and it was he (along others, some also sadly departed) who brought the 009 Society to exhibitions in Scotland that helped us get started. His input to our ScOONs Zoom meetings helped us get established as he was a prodigious builder and always had something interesting to show to inspire us. He also regaled us with his stories.
It was wonderful to see him at Statfold. I did not know the extent of his illness and it was clear he was in some distress but that did not subdue his character and wit. It is a shock to hear that he has gone. I shall treasure his 'lightbulb' story.
This news is one of great sadness to me. I have known Garry as a fellow modeller and friend for forty years and now his fire has gone out and he rests quietly in a siding.
Thanks you, Hugh, for passing on this news.
I have posted this on the News pages of the Society and a version will also appear on NGRM:
It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that Garry Whiting died on Tuesday, 5th December. While not unexpected, it still comes as a shock that the end for him has come. Just last month he was still answering queries on the early years of 009 modelling, this time for a piece in Railway Modeller. His knowledge of 009 modelling was, I believe, unsurpassed and that was backed up with much understanding of the real thing. He shared this knowledge freely and lightly, always encouraging others and looking forward to their future work.
In recent years he has been the Society Archivist, but before that he also filled other posts, not least being Chairman from 1977 to 1984 and 2000 to 2002. I am very happy that, despite his illness, he was able to attend and take a full part in our 50th Anniversary celebrations at Statfold in September. As one of the then three surviving founder members, he was a great link to our early days.
He leaves a big hole in the 009 world and his knowledge and character are truly irreplaceable.
Rest In Peace, Garry, so many will miss you. A fuller obituary will appear in the News in due course.
Julian
I only really knew Garry through his contributions to ScOONs online meetings, which he supported enthusiastically and faithfully in the early days when we were getting started. His knowledge of 009 and the pioneers of both the scale and the Society seemed almost inexhaustible and his stories were fascinating. I shall miss him.
Ian
I last saw Garry at Statfold , after not having seen him for some years ,having been living in Greece .It was great to see him again and was a very enthusiastic reunion .I did not know how bad he was , and he didn't mention anything , but we did correspond afterwards , as I have been living on borrowed time for 10 years .
He was a true friend and be will be sadly missed , not only as a person but also what he did for the Society .
R.I.P.dear friend
Alan
I too last saw Garry at the Statfold do; still in great spirits in spite of his illness.
A true gentleman and a great character to see at meetings in Rainford. I'll particularly be grateful to him for the surplus Knightwing diesel kits he passed onto me, and a few have already been built to honour his memory.
Rest peacefully Garry.
Although I had corresponded with Garry for a few years, I only met him once, when he offered the operating space of Gairloch and Wester Ross at ExpoNG as a base. As an Aussie visiting ExpoNG for the first time it was great to be able to leave my stuff somewhere while I wandered around, and I did get to play trains for a short while, and meet the others in the team. That was 2008 and every Christmas after that date I received an Christmas card from him. Very sad news. RIP Garry.
I only ever met Garry at Statfold, where I was not the only one to thank him for membership services. Lovely chap.
Thank you all for your comments. A summary of them and those on NGRM has been sent to the family who are amazed and delighted at the kind words written.
Julian
Garry's funeral details are as follows
3rd January at Lawnswood Crematorium
Otley Road, Adel, Leeds, LS16 6AH
at 10:45
Please reply to me via email (the little envelope icon) and I shall collate numbers on behalf of his family. Thank you.
Only heard about Garry's passing on a Sc009s zoom meting. I once asked Garry if he could please build a Peco varikit for me as I didn't have the confidence to tackle a white metal kit. Garry not only built the kit for me but sent me two beautifully completed locos (including chassis) all for no cost to me.
When I saw him at Statfold I saw the huge change in him and had a private word with him thanking him once again for the kindness shown to me.
Dave Chapman # 6152
Garry's funeral will be live-streamed and available to view afterwards.
I know there are friends who cannot be there but who would like to watch it.
I'll post link later when I have it.
Here are the details for Garry's funeral stream
Website https://watch.obitus.com
Username fuvi3098
Password 607196
the link will open about 5 minutes before the service is due to start. they company requests folk observe the common decencies if there is a prior service still in progress.
I believe the on-demand version will appear some (short) time later after editing.
Thank you.
Some memories of Garry Whiting.
Many will know of Garry's extensive knowledge of Narrow Gauge Railway modelling.
My first memory of meeting Garry was at a meeting of the West Yorkshire Group at Peter Kirkby's home, where we were standing around Peter's layout that took up most of the space in his modelling room; I nearly knocked one of Garry's locos over, which he had put out just behind me. Things improved, I'm glad to say.
When Garry accompanied me with my layout to model railway shows, or if I was tagging along with him and Bill Luty, he always knew the route take (although he did his best to avoid motorways) and could be relied on to find somewhere to have a break or a meal on the way. His speciality on drives was cafes that did proper Full English breakfasts at a decent price. He could also find restaurants for evening meals, which were always good (even if they were occasionally eye-wateringly expensive).
Garry had a remarkable memory and had a wealth of anecdotes and reminiscences. He talked about his time as a lad, his time at college in Porstmouth and of his time in the Specials and (without breaking professional confidentiality) about his time at work. He could talk about the cinema, Science Fiction, Spy fiction and Crime fiction. Car journeys were never dull!
He was always generous with his time and advice on modelling matters – and indeed with hard-to-find parts! Although he had not read any of Terry Pratchett's works, Garry could answer practically all questions from the public at shows, allowing me to leave the layout in safe hands to have breaks.
UPDATE
For the benefit of those who were viewing the funeral live feed, which terminated prematurely before the conclusion of the service, and for anyone else who was unable to attend in person and would like to see the funeral, the full feed has now been restored and is available for viewing, including the last several minutes that were missing on the live feed, and will be accessible until the end of this month, using the same web address, user name and password that Hugh published on 22 December, 2 posts below.
I'll also publish this on NGRM-Online as I know that there are a number of Garry's friends and colleagues who are members there but not on here.
If you are in contact with anyone who is not a member of either forum, appreciate if you will please pass on this information before the end of January, Thankyou.
Mick
The service is now available for download (as an MP4 file of 416 Mb!) from this link (until 2 Feb)
https://watch.obitus.com/download/15b80b4b-a209-4832-9a1d-e9abecf602da
Garry's family informed me that the collection at his funeral raised £320, which has been sent to Yorkshire Cancer Research. Thank you.
Hi
What a beautiful and fitting tribute to Garry Whiting by John Varley, 009 News February 2025, it was both moving and amusing. RIP