Today we look at the life of Tony Wass, in the third of a series of articles remembering those lost to coronavirus over the past year. We’d like to thank the families and friends who have been in touch with the Stray Ferret to share precious memories of their loved ones.

Tony Wass was born on June 15, 1942 in Helperby. He died aged 78 on February 19, 2021 at Harrogate District Hospital.

Tony was loved dearly by his wife and two daughters as well as friends from Grosvenor Park on Boroughbridge Road.

Growing up in Helperby with his three sisters and one brother, Tony began his working life helping his dad on the farm.

Tony Wass aged 11

He then went on to work for Cyril Wrights coal merchants in Boroughbridge for 15 years. His daughter, Tracey, said “he was so happy there”.

At 25, he married Ann in York on June 17, 1967 and welcomed his two daughters Tracey and Lesley shortly after.

His next long-term job was in North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department. During this time, the family were living locally in Langthorpe and then Skelton.

Tony and Ann at their wedding in 1967.

A “Yorkshire man through and through”, Tony loved the outdoors and enjoyed fishing with friends. He was a keen cyclist and runner completing his third and final Great North Run just before he turned 60.

His love for staying active meant he was cycling 50 mile routes up to the age of 60.

A “larger than life” character, Tony always stayed local and later became a traffic warden in Ripon until retirement.

Tony Wass, aged 58, after completing a Great North Run.

Tony and Ann loved Ripon and its community and built up a good network of friends. The pair moved to Grosvenor Park, 15 years ago, building strong friendships with the other residents.

At 72 Tony was diagnosed with Alzheimers. He still enjoyed the outdoors and Tracey remembers her dad parking his chair up on the road at the top of the park to “just to watch the world go by”.

He continued to live at his home with Ann tending his beloved garden.

Tony receiving his silver award from the Mayor for Ripon in Bloom ‘Winning Garden’ (left) and his beloved garden and caravan (right).

Tony was classed as high risk so coronavirus restrictions meant he never met his great-grandson. Over the past year, his daughters and 2 grandchildren only saw him through the window or in the garden.

Towards the end of his life, Tony was taken into hospital and later contracted coronavirus whilst at Ripon Community Hospital. Tracey was able to see him once for ten minutes to say goodbye.

When he passed away, Tony was alone. Tracey said “that was the worst bit of it all, we couldn’t see him”.

Although small, Tracey said her dad’s funeral was packed full of the people that loved him including his loving friends at Grosvenor Park who called him the “life and soul of the park”.

Today we look at the life of Ian Stuart Lee, in the second of a series of articles remembering those lost to coronavirus over the past year. We’d like to thank the families and friends who have been in touch with the Stray Ferret to share precious memories of their loved ones.

Ian Stuart Lee was born on October 8, 1951 in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. He died aged 69 on January 9, 2021 at Harrogate District Hospital.

Ian was loved by his wife and family and became a committed member of the community in Pateley Bridge after moving to the town five years ago.

One of two sons, Ian went to school in Heckmondwike and left at the age of 18 to start his career in hospitality.

Ian Lee in 1974.

At 20 years old he worked as assistant manager at The Old Manor House in Knaresborough.  Little did he know the young woman that started as a waitress over the summer would be his fiancee seven months later.

The pair married in Beeston, near Leeds, in 1975 and moved to Oxford a year later to work in the newsagent industry.

His wife, Theresa Lee, said “he was the love of my life”, a man with a sense of adventure always holding Yorkshire close to his heart.

Ian and Theresa in their wedding day in 1975.

Ian and Theresa worked in the newsagent industry for a long time, working behind counters and as stocktakers. Even running their own newsagent in Oxford during the 70’s.

The pair didn’t have children but were close to their eight nephews and nieces, who now live across the world.

Their shared love for adventure took them to every corner of the globe. The pair visited all seven continents during their time together – even Antartica in 2018. Theresa recalled celebrating Ian’s 65th birthday in Abu Dhabi in 2016.

Theresa said despite their travels, and time living down south Ian never lost his Yorkshire twang, he was known for greeting anyone with a “Ow do?”.

Ian and Theresa Lee on holiday in Peru in 2014.

After 10 years living away from Yorkshire in Oxford and Liverpool. The pair moved back up to West Yorkshire and lived in Cleckheaton for the next 30 years.

During that time Ian continued in stocktaking and achieved a goal of his to run a fish and chip shop. The pair ran one together in Armley for seven years.

Five years ago, in 2016, the married couple came and settled in Wilsill, near Pateley Bridge, and got stuck into the Pateley Bridge community.

This included the Pateley Playhouse – Ian took on the role of theatre manager and Theresa worked backstage in props. Ian even made his stage debut as a dwarf for the society’s February pantomime of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs last year.

Ian as Lumpy the dwarf in Snow White.

Ian was instrumental in the renovation plans currently underway at the Playhouse to install a lift. A total of £2,200 has been donated to the lift project in Ian’s name.

Ian also volunteered with the Nidderdale and Pateley Bridge Men’s Shed, an initiative spreading across the country to encourage men to talk and tackle loneliness. He was also the health and safety officer for the town’s Memorial Hall Committee.

Towards the end of his life, Ian went into Harrogate District Hospital on December 23 after feeling unwell.

Theresa was able to be with Ian at the end of his life alongside a friend. She said “it was a comfort to be with him but hard not to hug him”.

Ian died on January 9, 2021, aged 69.

Theresa and Ian had “one hell of a good life together” and she hopes to travel one day to see her family abroad and continue ticking off the countries they had planned to visit together.

Another patient who had tested positive for coronavirus has died at Harrogate District Hospital, according to today’s figures from NHS England.

The death, which was registered yesterday, brings the total number of deaths at the hospital to 167 since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, seven new cases of covid have been confirmed in the Harrogate district today by Public Health England.

The total number of confirmed cases in the district since the start of the outbreak now stands at 7,391.

The Harrogate district seven-day covid rate has fallen to 42 per 100,000 people. This is lower than the rate for England which is 60,

Read more:

• Harrogate district covid rate hits six-month low

• Nearly 60,000 receive covid vaccine in Harrogate district

Today we look at the life of Noreen Rogers, in the first of a series of articles remembering those lost to coronavirus over the past year. We’d like to thank the families and friends who have been in touch with the Stray Ferret to share precious memories of their loved ones.

Noreen Rogers was born February 26, 1928, on King Edward’s Drive in Harrogate. She died, aged 92, on March 16, 2020 at Harrogate District Hospital.

Noreen was a much-loved mother, grandma, friend and an active member of the Harrogate community.

Born post-war, Noreen was the youngest of five children.

Like many children of the time Noreen was evacuated during World War Two. Sue remembered her mum talking fondly of a Lancashire town called Freckleton.

Noreen as a young woman.

On returning to Harrogate, she began working at her Mum’s bed and breakfast, on Swan Road.

Her eldest daughter Sue recalled her mum telling the story of collecting water from the pump room in Harrogate with a distinct “smell of sulphur”.

At the age of 14 Noreen left school and went straight into working as a civil servant in the Ministry of Food helping to organise food rationing locally.

Working long hours, from the age of 14, doing the breakfast shift before heading to work meant she was always a “hard worker”.

Living and working in Harrogate her whole life, Noreen’s life charts a similar history to the town itself.

She was an avid dancer and loved going to local dance halls at the weekend. One evening she was being twirled round the floor by a man called Alec who would later be her husband.

Marrying in 1949 the pair went onto have three daughters, Sue, Sandra and Rose during the 1950’s. This was when Noreen left her position in the Ministry of Food to raise her family.

Noreen and her three daughters

One of her three daughters, Sue Stenton, said her mother was “really quite amazing”: a loving and caring woman who would do anything for anyone.

She thrived on the company of her friends and family, including her six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Later in life, Noreen continued to stay busy joining a number of clubs including the bowling club. She was also a keen swimmer at the Hydro in Harrogate.

Up until the age of 90 she still enjoyed swimming three times a week. Her youthful nature even inspired Harrogate hospital staff who said “I hope to be like her at her age”.

Noreen (bottom centre) with her husband Alec, sister Cicely, daughters Sue, Sandra and Rose and grandson Mark.

When Alec died in 2011 Noreen continued to live independently in her house off King’s Road, Harrogate, and rejoined the congregation at St Wilfred’s Church.

Sue said her mum always stayed busy and was “never in when I went around”.

A keen traveller, Noreen loved holidaying in the UK but also travelled across the globe to the States, Israel and Cyprus many times, “making friends wherever she went”.

Keeping in touch with people over the phone and by letter was really important to Noreen.

Noreen and two of her seven great grandsons.

Towards the end of her life, Noreen was admitted to Harrogate District Hospital in March 2020, but it was a shock to the family when they heard she had covid. Sue said: “It was early on in the pandemic so I don’t think we connected the dots.”

Sue was able to see her mum while she was still alive and thanked the nurses and doctors for their “wonderful” work to allow her to spend time with her mum.

On March 16, 2020, Noreen died at the age of 92.

Due to the pandemic and confusion about how risky it would be to travel only four people attended the cremation. The family are still hoping to hold a memorial for Noreen when larger groups are allowed.

Pupils across the Harrogate district will be returning to classrooms this week after online learning since the start of term.

While teachers have remained on site to support children of key workers and provide virtual lessons, for many families it is the first time children have been in school since before Christmas.

As well as readjusting to classroom life, including wearing masks, secondary school students will be expected to begin a covid testing regime as the government aims to reduce the number of cases in schools. However, schools are keen to make the return to classroom teaching as normal and positive as possible.

For Harrogate Grammar School, one of the key aims over the remaining weeks of the school year is to ensure students do not become “the covid generation”. Headteacher Neil Renton said they had shown their resilience through all the challenges of the last 12 months:

“They have gone through so much in the last year, they have been used to adapting and changing. They have been at home, then brought back, then had periods of isolation – there have been lots of different scenarios.

“That’s why we should call them ‘generation remarkable’ because they’re more independent and they’re more resilient.”

Read more:

• Schools open for covid testing as classroom return looms
• Harrogate covid testing site to become rapid test collection point

Mr Renton said the government’s announcement about the way exam grades will be awarded this summer had given reassurance to students, and the school had organised online sessions to give more information about how teacher assessments will be completed.

With all the grammar school’s students having access to an iPad for home learning, and now being back in the classroom, he said teachers had had regular contact throughout the year to inform their assessments. However, any further lockdown before the summer could pose new challenges.

“Year 11 and year 13 have got three weeks when they get back, then seven weeks after Easter, and in that time we have got to do some assessments so we can come up with teacher-assessed grades.

“If we have to close again, it means doing assessments remotely and that’s much more difficult to achieve. It’s a critical period for schools.”

At Ripon Grammar School, students will return to in-person lessons from Thursday. Sixth form student Hannah Burfield said she and her fellow pupils were nervous but excited about returning to the classroom.

“Despite my positive attitude throughout this lockdown, I admit there have been moments when my motivation has wavered.

“To help cope with stress I made a promise to myself that I would go outside at least once every day, and I feel that this has really helped to keep me grounded and improved my mental health.”

She said many students have enjoyed the additional time with their families, as well as having enough time to complete extra projects or begin planning their university applications. However, they know a more normal routine has to return and hope to adjust quickly to life in school again.

Ripon Grammar School sixth form student Hannah Burfield

Hannah added:

“Despite my initial anxiety about returning back to school I recognise that it is time for things to finally move back to normality and I hope our routines won’t be disrupted by any more lockdowns.

“It will be challenging for all students to return to school and many will find it difficult to motivate themselves and may feel overwhelmed by their work at first. That’s why it is so important, now more than ever, to check in with your friends and to make sure you speak up if you ever need any help.”

It is not only the students preparing for an adjustment this week. Jonathan Webb, headmaster of Ripon Grammar School, said the return to classrooms is important for everyone in schools:

“One thing is clear – that there is no substitute for school when it comes to the social and emotional benefits we all get from interacting and learning together. This applies, I am sure, as much for staff as it does for students.

“We all miss being be able to read on our students’ faces those expressions of joy and confusion, enlightenment and frustration, grumpiness and happiness; in essence, all the things that make us human.”

At St Aidan’s High School in Harrogate, staff are also looking forward to seeing all pupils in school again. A spokesperson said:

“Over the past few months we have been delighted with the way that students have adapted to learning at home and over the last year have been hugely impressed by their resilience and ability to manage the challenges that have been put in front of them.

“We very much look forward to the corridors being filled with happiness and laughter once again and, crucially, face to face personal interactions becoming an integral part of students’ everyday lives again.”

Health leaders revealed today they are in discussions with the organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show about whether the event and the vaccination programme on the site can take place together.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society announced this week it planned to stage the three-day show from July 13 to 15, adding the decision would be ‘reviewed regularly’.

This raised questions about the impact on the mass vaccination programme that is being run at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The showground, which can carry out up to 1,800 vaccinations a day, has been the Harrogate district’s main vaccine centre since December.

The NHS is due to be giving jabs to under-50s at the time of the show.

The vaccines are administered in the Yorkshire Event Centre building at the showground. The event centre is usually a key part of the Great Yorkshire Show, hosting many food stalls.

Read more:

• Great Yorkshire Showground can give 1,800 vaccines in a day
• Great Yorkshire Show set to go ahead in July

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, told a coronavirus press briefing today:

“It’s great that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and that venues which would have been standing empty have been serving such a great purpose.

“There are a number of sites we will be having conversations with over the next few weeks and there are also sites we are already in discussions with.

“We are talking about how we can run vaccination sites concurrently with public-facing events or whether we need to think about providing it in a different way.

“So we are working with individual sites to understand what the different options are for us.”

The Stray Ferret also asked the Yorkshire Agricultural Society about the situation.

Heather Parry, Managing Director of Yorkshire Event Centre said:

“We are discussing our plans with the NHS vaccination centre and together we expect to come up with workable solutions.”

A Harrogate man broke lockdown and speeding rules when he was caught driving at 126 miles an hour on the way to Scarborough.

North Yorkshire Police said today the man had picked up a woman from York and they were on their way to Scarborough when they were caught near Stainton.

When questioned by officers they explained that they “just wanted to go for a drive”, which was not considered to be a reasonable excuse for being outside during lockdown.

Sergeant Daniel Thompson, of Scarborough’s neighbourhood policing team, said at a North Yorkshire coronavirus press briefing today:

“One of the safety cameras on the A64 sighted a vehicle travelling at 126mph. I managed to stop that vehicle as it approached Stainton.

“There were two people in the vehicle. A man who travelled from Harrogate who picked up the woman from York. They were travelling from York to Scarborough for a drive.

“That was the only purpose. They were from two different households and travelled significant distance. The speeding was putting themselves and others at risk.

“Just going for a drive was not a reasonable excuse. We tell these people to just do their bit and as the police we will continue to do our bit.”

Police and public health leaders are increasingly concerned about the number of people breaking lockdown rules as the weather improves.

Read more:

• Matt Hancock praises Harrogate’s rapid vaccine response
• Harrogate district records fewest covid cases for six months

North Yorkshire Police said today it has handed out 255 lockdown fines in the last seven days, which is a 33% increase on last week.

Superintendent Mike Walker, North Yorkshire Police’s lead on the coronavirus response, said:

“We are starting to see a concerning trend. Over the last few weeks we have reported increasing numbers of fines that the police are handing out.

“There has been a significant upturn in the numbers. We handed out 255 fines in the last week, with 169 in the last weekend alone.

“We believe the figures are influenced by the good weather but officers are reporting that there has been a change of behaviour since the government released its roadmap.”

Figures for the number of people who have had the first dose of a covid vaccine across the Harrogate district have been revealed for the first time.

NHS England has started to publish the data, which shows a breakdown of the number vaccinated by age and area.

The latest figures, which cover inoculations to February 21, reveal 48,753 people have received their first dose in the district – 30% of the population.

Harrogate West and Pannal has recorded the highest take-up, with 3,721 receiving a vaccine.

Read more:

• Great Yorkshire Showground can give 1,800 vaccines in a day
• Harrogate district vaccine boost as over 50s prepare for jab
• Knaresborough vaccine centre opens at former supermarket

The lowest number so far is 1,701 in Masham, Kirby Malzeard and North Stainley.

Find out how many people have had a vaccine in your area below.

Masham, Kirby Malzeard and North Stainley

• Over 80 – 372
• Over 75 – 308
• Over 70 – 438
• Under 70 – 583

Total: 1,701
Population: 5,494

Ripon North and West

• Over 80 – 464
• Over 75 – 269
• Over 70 – 392
• Under 70 – 645

Total: 1,770
Population: 6,151

Disforth, Baldersby and Markington

• Over 80 – 371
• Over 75 – 337
• Over 70 – 427
• Under 70 – 715

Total: 1,850
Population: 6,419

Ripon South and East

• Over 80 – 789
• Over 75 – 534
• Over 70 – 626
• Under 70 – 1,240

Total: 3,189
Population: 10,253

Staff at the Great Yorkshire Showground site helping with the vaccination effort.

Boroughbridge and Marton-Cum-Grafton

• Over 80 – 534
• Over 75 – 352
• Over 70 – 475
• Under 70 – 894

Total: 2,255
Population: 6,610

Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley

• Over 80 – 399
• Over 75 – 326
• Over 70 – 496
• Under 70 – 662

Total: 1,883
Population: 6,057

Knaresborough North

• Over 80 – 498
• Over 75 – 343
• Over 70 – 501
• Under 70 – 1,100

Total: 2,442
Population: 7,078

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite

• Over 80 – 309
• Over 75 – 248
• Over 70 – 365
• Under 70 – 859

Total: 1,781
Population: 6,960

Knaresborough Central

• Over 80 – 522
• Over 75 – 322
• Over 70 – 433
• Under 70 – 1,077

Total: 2,354
Population: 6,937

Bilton

• Over 80 – 549
• Over 75 – 410
• Over 70 – 553
• Under 70 – 1,331

Total: 2,843
Population: 9,029

Saltergate

• Over 80 – 286
• Over 75 – 220
• Over 70 – 335
• Under 70 – 1,011

Total: 1,852
Population: 7,489

Nurse holds up covid vaccine at Great Yorkshire Showground vaccine site. Picture: the Stray Ferret.

Knaresborough South and Follifoot

• Over 80 – 451
• Over 75 – 360
• Over 70 – 505
• Under 70 – 1,014

Total: 2,330
Population: 5,839

Harrogate East

• Over 80 – 448
• Over 75 – 233
• Over 70 – 396
• Under 70 – 1,366

Total: 2,433
Population: 8,980

Starbeck

• Over 80 – 570
• Over 75 – 325
• Over 70 – 459
• Under 70 – 1,582

Total: 2,936
Population: 9,292

Central Harrogate

• Over 80 – 562
• Over 75 – 328
• Over 70 – 431
• Under 70 – 1,105

Total: 2,426
Population: 9,775

Ouseburn, Hammerton and Tockwith

• Over 80 – 422
• Over 75 – 382
• Over 70 – 544
• Under 70 – 1,257

Total: 2,605
Population: 9,724

Hookstone

• Over 80 – 620
• Over 75 – 364
• Over 70 – 512
• Under 70 – 1,160

Total: 2,656
Population: 8,421

Read more:

• 48,000 people have covid vaccine in Harrogate district
• Call for inquiry into Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital

Menwith, Beckwithshaw and Denton Moor

• Over 80 – 438
• Over 75 – 349
• Over 70 – 419
• Under 70 – 704

Total: 1,910
Population: 5,959

Stray

• Over 80 – 666
• Over 75 – 348
• Over 70 – 425
• Under 70 – 844

Total: 2,283
Population: 7,727

Harrogate West and Pannal

• Over 80 – 927
• Over 75 – 513
• Over 70 – 656
• Under 70 – 1,175

Total: 3,271
Population: 10,740

Spofforth, Burn Bridge and Huby

• Over 80 – 454
• Over 75 – 345
• Over 70 – 431
• Under 70 – 733

Total: 1,963
Population: 5,897

Firefighters rescued a climber who got stuck up Almscliffe Crag on Saturday.

Crews from Knaresborough attended the incident on Crag Lane, North Rigton in the afternoon.

They used a ladder to help the Parka-wearing climber back to safety.

Almscliffe Crag, which is made of Millstone Grit, is a popular landmark for climbers and walkers.

A spokesperson for Knaresborough Fire Station said the person was not injured but had “a little bit of hurt pride”.

One comment on the fire station’s Facebook post accused the unnamed climber of “irresponsible behaviour” during a lockdown.

North Yorkshire Police has frequently warned people not to travel for exercise during lockdown.

Read more:

• Knaresborough vaccine centre opens at former supermarket
• Harrogate Nightingale closure expected next month

But Paul Metheringham, Knaresborough watch station manager for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, told the Stray Ferret:

“The young man was local to the area so he was not breaking any coronavirus restrictions.

“He thought he would climb up with his friend and realised that he had got himself stuck at about five metres up.

“Luckily no injuries, just a little bit of hurt pride and hopefully a lesson learned.”

Harrogate District Hospital has recorded another coronavirus death but the case rates have dropped even further in the Harrogate district.

The latest death, which happened on Wednesday but was reported today, takes the hospital to 159 coronavirus deaths.

A further 18 people tested positive for the virus in the Harrogate district today. The total number of cases in the district is now up to 7,280.

Cases in the Harrogate district have remained around the 20 mark for much of the last month and even lower in the last week.

Read more:

• Knaresborough vaccine centre opens at former supermarket
• 48,000 people have covid vaccine in Harrogate district

Those dropping numbers of cases has meant that the district’s seven-day case rate is now at 75 per 100,000 people.

That is below the England average of 102 per 100,000 but just above the North Yorkshire average of 72 per 100,000.

It comes as Knaresborough’s vaccine centre opened today. Depending on supply, it can give out 1,200 jabs in a day.