Ross-on-Wye based firm Dawleys have paid tribute to founder and chairman Roger Parckar who sadly passed away on December 30 2021 following a short illness.

Roger Parckar, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, was committed to the economy and community of Herefordshire, particularly in Ross-on-Wye where he lived and founded his business, Dawleys, more than 30 years ago. Roger has grown Dawleys, initially a marketing consultancy service, to become one of the largest employers in Ross. For 30 years he provided jobs and development opportunities for hundreds of people and currently employs over 60 staff.

He died peacefully at home surrounded by his family.

Paying tribute to Mr Parckar, Dawleys relased the following statement: "Roger was passionate about supporting his local area and the many community projects based in and around Ross-on-Wye, including charities, schools, societies and sports clubs. He also instigated the fantastic Christmas lights display at Dawleys, provided sponsorship of the summer Ross-on-Wye carnival and donated generously towards the installation of a lift at Ross Hospital.

"As a keen lover of sport and especially football, Roger was instrumental in supporting Hereford Football Club, establishing Dawleys as the clubs main front of shirt sponsor since 2019.

"Roger was an active environmentalist - he embraced solar energy at Dawleys and pushed the business to meet challenging recycling targets. Alongside his wife Jill, he worked tirelessly to maintain natural habitats around the River Wye, including planting a huge range of rare, ancient and disease resistant trees. They also both undertook ground-breaking work to help preserve the breeding programme for the rare Suffolk horse.

"Dawleys was Roger’s great pride and joy and he was incredibly proud of every single person that has worked, and still works for the company. Roger created a strong and experienced management structure at Dawleys - the business will continue developing and adapting to meet new business challenges and opportunities from their offices in Ross-on-Wye. Roger Parckar will be sorely missed, but his legacy will continue."