A magician who once claimed to be lobbying to have magic recognised as a sport in the next Olympic Games has died aged 67.
That episode – which turned out to be a very successful ruse to publicise a magic show in Knaresborough – was just one of many in Bob McBratney’s life, which was marked by kindness and humour.
Born in 1955, Robert McBratney had a varied career, training as a chef and working at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, and later becoming an antiques dealer. At one point he took up sailing, fitting out racing yachts, and as bosun’s mate on the schooner Sir Winston Churchill, he crewed in the Tall Ships Race to America in 1976, sailing the first leg to the Canary Islands, before joining Master Builder for the second leg to Bermuda.
Having conquered the sea, he then took to the air, learning to fly light aircraft and earning his private pilot’s licence. In the 1990s, he worked as general manager of Liverpool Festival Gardens and, of significance in his magical career, Mother Shipton’s Cave in Knaresborough, which was run by his brother Frank and, coincidentally, TV magician Paul Daniels.
When the firm was sold on, Bob, then aged 46, was introduced to magic by a friend, magician Brian Knowles (also known as Brian Le Slie). Bob knew nothing about magic then, and would often say – years later – that he still knew nothing and was just waiting to be found out.
It wasn’t true, though – Bob worked hard, learned the ropes and, performing as Bob’s Your Uncle, became a popular children’s entertainer across Yorkshire and beyond.
Early in his career, Bob joined the Harrogate Society of Magicians which, according to his good friend James Ward, transformed Bob’s life. Mr Ward said:
“He, like me, had great help and encouragement from some wonderful magicians.
“Brian Knowles, George Fowler and Denys Hollis – all sadly no longer with us – were regularly on hand for help and advice, as was the late Mike Coyne, a variety hall performer and star of TV’s The Comedians. We both benefited enormously from their input.”
Performing both for children and as a close-up magician for adults, Bob even put together a compilation of simple tricks for doctors to perform to younger patients, Child’s Play, which proved a sell-out success.
Bob was resident magician at Lockwood’s restaurant in Ripon, a regular at Knaresborough’s annual FEVA Festival, and even ventured into the world of after-dinner speaking and became a great success on the Women’s Institute speaking circuit.
In 2007, Bob became president of the Harrogate Society of Magicians and in 2008 he was elected to The Magic Circle. As President of the Harrogate society, he oversaw its 60th anniversary celebrations and arranged countless shows, dinners, society visits and fundraisers, often ferrying members around in his working car, which members fondly re-named the Bobmobile.
Mr Ward said:
“Bob always had time for others, and was one of the most selfless people I’ve known. He helped me enormously in my own magical career, finding me jobs, lending me props and teaching me the ropes.
“We worked together several times over the years, and always had a blast. The last time we worked together was in 2018 when we entered ‘Ripon’s Got Talent’ as the Famulus Brothers, playing a Morecambe and Wise-style magic double act.
“We didn’t win, but – as always with Bob – we had a barrel-load of laughs.”
Away from the magic, Bob was a tireless worker for local causes and community projects, including village fairs, Harrogate Scouts, the parish council and the church.
Bob was diagnosed with mesothelioma – a kind of cancer – in 2019, but despite not expecting to see the year out, he didn’t give up. He threw himself into working for Mesothelioma Support Yorkshire, performing magic at its get-togethers, taking part in sponsored bike rides and ultimately becoming its ‘poster boy’, ever ready to be interviewed and publicise its work.
He defied the odds, living longer than expected, largely thanks to the care of his wife, Joanne, son Henry and his care team. It was only in 2022, when he suffered a stroke, that he finally began to decline.
He died at St Michael’s Hospice in Harrogate on February 19.
Mr Ward said:
“No one ever made me laugh as much as Bob – even after he was diagnosed.
“There were times when we were on the phone every day sharing our love of TV comedies and films, regularly recalling our favourite lines and insisting on reminding each other what they were.
“I’ve lost some very good friends in magic over the past 20 years, but none as close to me as Bob. I loved him dearly, and my world is an emptier place without him. Rest in peace, old friend.”
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